Nicholas Ruhs
Research Data Management Librarian
Florida State University
With the increasing amount of digital data being produced and made available to practitioners in academia and industry, there is a growing demand for expertise in evaluating, analyzing, and using data. Many employers now expect new graduates to have skills in data literacy and data analysis. While students often learn new tools and analysis techniques in the classroom, opportunities to gain practical training in how to use this knowledge to solve “real-world” problems are limited. This presents an opportunity for academic libraries to fill in this gap and provide students with an environment in which they can apply their skills. This briefing will describe the development of a data fellowship program for STEM undergraduate students at Florida State University Libraries. The data fellowship program, having just completed its third year, uses a peer-to-peer support model wherein the “data fellows” engage with undergraduate and graduate students to provide instruction and research support related to data literacy, data science, data analysis, and open data. These opportunities provide the fellows with opportunities to develop practical skills that position them for success in the workforce. The briefing will discuss the overall structure of the program and provide examples of successful projects completed by the fellows. Challenges and insights observed thus far will also be discussed, along with ideas for sustaining the program in the future.
https://www.lib.fsu.edu/about/organization/strategic-initiatives/build-community-stem-data-scholars