Digital skills for FAIR and Open Science (2021)

A comprehensive skills and education strategy is needed to translate the vision of a strong European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) research data ecosystem into reality. Skills and training are essential for mainstreaming FAIR and open science practices, to spark innovation that ultimately provides societal benefits.

However, there are significant challenges to creating and maintaining the digitally skilled workforce needed to ensure realisation of the EOSC vision, and for ensuring that Europe maintains its leading position in open science. To realise the vision of a strong research ecosystem with data and software at its core, EOSC has an important role to play in ensuring recognition of digitally skilled professionals, propagating opportunities to acquire FAIR and open science skills, enabling access to relevant learning and training resources and influencing strategic agendas at the national and European levels.

This Independent Experts Report stems from the work of the EOSC Executive Board Skills and Training Working Group.