The Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) is a partnership of UK organisations committed to improving access to marine data. MEDIN is open to all with an interest in marine data and information. MEDIN is funded by a consortium of 16 sponsors and has over 60 partners that represent government departments and agencies, research organisations and private companies committed to practise good data management. MEDIN reports to the UK Marine Science Coordination Committee. 

This ONLINE course demonstrates how data management ‘best practice’ can improve organisational efficiency in data acquisition, analysis, curation and sharing. It covers data use with respect to corporate risk, re-use, audit and traceability, whilst at the same time helping minimising costs.

The course will equip attendees to better meet the challenge of keeping on top of the ever-increasing volumes and types of data that is being created and how to manage this data and make it available to users as meaningful information, whether using proprietary or open-source software and systems as enablers. 

Aims & Objectives

The course aims to give participants a broad understanding of data governance, management principles, and system components and how data can be published information and re-used with a focus on the tools that the Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) provides as examples of best practice. 

Expected Learning Outcomes 

Course content

The course comprises a series of presentations, demonstrations and check-point reviews, with a large practical element to help users become familiar with:

• Why data management is important and how it can and arguably should be part of an organisations business management framework alongside quality, occupational health and safety, and information security, all of which are covered by ISO accreditation.
• The role of a data policy and management plan, and things to consider and how data can be shared, published and re-used.
• Data management principles, standards and components, including data lifecycle and quality, the role of vocabularies (or data dictionaries) and the importance of creating, maintaining and publishing metadata.
• The resources and other benefits of MEDIN and practical instruction in the use of the MEDIN data guidelines, metadata standard and controlled vocabularies.

Course modules include:

• Module 1. Course content and objectives 
• Module 2. Introduction to MEDIN as an exemplar data partnership and management framework  
• Module 3. Data management overview, principles and organisation 
• Module 4. Data in a Business Management Framework (Policy, Planning, Review) 
• Module 5. Standards Overview 
• Module 6. Data management components frameworks and infrastructure
• Module 7. Practical session
• Module 8. MEDIN Data Guidelines
• Module 9. Data Sharing and Publishing
• Module 10. Course Summary

Target audience and prerequisites

This training course is suitable for anyone responsible for collecting or managing marine environmental data in the public sector, industry, or for education or research, for example:

• Existing and potential data managers who wish to gain an overview of data governance, policy and principles and/or want to learn more about using the MEDIN metadata standard data guidelines in their day to day work.
• Contractors who want to implement good data management practice and/or have been asked to supply MEDIN compliant metadata.
• Bachelors/masters/PhD students or recent graduates interested in data management best practice and adding to their professional skill set.

Pre-requisites: An understanding of marine data collection is beneficial, however no prior knowledge of MEDIN or data management is required. Familiarity with different marine data types, and how data is acquired and used, would be helpful but not essential. Prior knowledge or practical experience in data management is not required.

Language of Instruction: English 

Instructors

• Roseanna Wright (MEDIN/NOC)
• Alice Rysiecki (MEDIN/NOC)
• Colm Walsh (MEDIN/NOC)
• Chloe Figueroa-Ashforth (DASSH/MBA)
• Julie Bunt (DASSH/MBA)
• Mike Osborne (OceanWise)

Course Format and Duration

The course takes place over 5 days with online lectures delivered in live sessions (2-3 hours, with regular breaks) in the mornings (UK time) and independent-study and practical assignments in the afternoons.