SIS Launches Research Data Management Certificate Program
The School of Information Sciences recently added another graduate certificate to its offerings, the Research Data Management Certificate (RDMC).
“At SIS, we tailor our programs to the workforce needs of employers and provide a relevant curriculum that benefits our students,” said SIS Professor and Director Abebe Rorissa. “The new Research Data Management Certificate and our existing certificate offerings in Health Informatics and Youth Informatics will create ample opportunities for students and practitioners to expand their skillsets.”
This certificate combines various courses offered by SIS into a comprehensive program that will showcase student’s ability to manage research data for a variety of institutions. It also allows non-degree seeking practitioners to gain an additional certificate to augment their skillsets, as anyone with a graduate degree or who is enrolled in a graduate program can apply to be in the certificate program.
“The expansion of research data availability and production has highlighted the need for proper training in data stewardship. Recent years have seen both incentivized and federally mandated research data management plans enacted by institutions and funding agencies as a way of supporting more open and integrated data-intensive research,” said SIS Associate Professor Wade Bishop, coordinator for this certificate.
Research data management encompasses the work to coordinate activities and processes throughout the data lifecycle for research data. Data managers may perform an array of duties, including research outreach, technology administration, data acquisition and institutional training.
Bishop said that having data specialists who are dedicated to information management relieves researchers from the anxieties associated with doing it themselves, especially if the researchers don’t have the sufficient training, time, or funding to properly manage data.
“In order for research data to be reused, specific strategies must be implemented to maintain access, interoperability, integrity, and security,” Bishop said.
Soft and technical skills taught in the certificate program, such as data management, digital curation, and geospatial technologies, will prepare future practitioners to be adept in the workforce and provide much needed support to researchers. They’ll enter into positions with job titles such as data curator, information specialist, and informationist, and be employed at a variety of institutions that produce research data.
“The certificate will prepare graduates for exciting careers of interdisciplinary work, collaborating with scholars across domains, in higher education, government, and beyond. Throughout their program of study, students will develop and strengthen their skills in communication, collaboration, outreach, teaching, research, programming, software, and tools,” Bishop said. “It’s all data nowadays no matter the sector, so most jobs will have some research data management component even if it isn’t called that.”
Learn more about this program by contacting Bishop via email at wade.bishop@utk.edu.