Micro-Creds: Innovative Training for Sustainable Communities

The Sonraí Irish Data Stewardship Network was initially funded under the National Open Research Forum (NORF) 2022 Open Research Fund call. Now, as we move to a self-sustaining network, we are exploring options for financial sustainability as well as delivering value to our community of data stewards—recognising the valuable role data stewards play in curation of research data. We are rolling out a fee-based micro-credential in Data Stewardship in University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland. A micro-credential Task & Finish group was established in October 2024. Using the Skills4EOSC Curriculum Outline for Data Stewards, they completed significant work in adapting the curriculum to the Irish context. The launch of the Introduction to Data Stewardship micro-credential in 2026 is a targeted investment in skills, will increase institutional capacity to align practices with funder, policy and legislative requirements, provide a route to an accredited data stewardship career pathway, and offer Sonraí a means for longer-term self-sustainability. Special thanks go to the Sonraí Task & Finish group, who have donated their time to this project. This lightning talk will give an overview of the platform choice, curriculum work to date, and plans for expansion through a model for developing discipline-specific curricula.