A Bittersweet Ending to Frictionless Fellows Cohort 2
To say that I am proud of the second cohort of Frictionless Fellows is an understatement. Their insight, discussions, and breakthroughs have been a true joy to witness, and I feel so lucky to have had the chance to work and learn with each of them. Over the last 9 months, they not only learned about Frictionless Data tooling, how to make their research more reproducible, and how to advocate for open science, they also gave many presentations (some for the first time in public!), published papers, wrote dissertations, and gained confidence in their coding skills. I know each of them will be a leader in the open space, so keep an eye on them!
As a final assignment, the Fellows have written blogs reflecting upon their experiences and what they learned during the programme. I’ve copied blurbs from each below, but be sure to click on the links to read more from each Fellow!
Endings, Beginnings, and Reflections - by Anne Lee Steele (opens new window)
“What came out of this fellowship, as my colleagues have said time and time again, is much more than I ever could have imagined. Over the course of the past year, I’ve had fascinating debates with my cohort, and learned about how different disciplines unpack complex debates surrounding transparency, openness, and accessibility (as well as many other things). I’ve learned how to engage with the universe of open knowledge, and have even started working on my own related projects! With the support of OKF, I’ve learned how to give presentations in public, and think about data in ways I never had before.”A done deal - by Evelyn Night (opens new window)
“The fellowship was both exhilarating and educative. I got to engage in Open Science conversations, learned about and used frictionless tools like the Data Package Creator and Goodtables. I also navigated the open data landscape using CLI, Python, and git. I also got to engage in the Frictionless Community calls where software geniuses presented their work and also held Open science-centered conversations. These discussions enhanced my understanding of the Open Science movement and I felt a great honor to be involved in such meetings. I learned so much that the 9 months flew by.”A fellowship concludes - by Jacqueline Maasch (opens new window)
“It is hard to believe that my time as a Reproducible Research Fellow is over. I am most grateful for this program giving me a dedicated space in which to learn, a community with which to engage, and language with which to arm myself. I have been exposed to issues in open science that I had never encountered before, and have had the privilege of discussing these issues with people from across the world. I will miss the journal clubs the most!”My experience in the fellows program - a reflection - by Katerina Drakoulaki (opens new window)
“I got into the fellowship just with the hope of getting the opportunity to learn things I didn’t have the opportunity to learn on my own. That is, I did not have specific expectations, I was (and still am) grateful to be in. I feel that all the implicit expectations I might have had are all fulfilled. I got an amazing boost in my digital skills altogether and I know exactly why (no I did not gain a few IQ points). I was in a helpful community and I matured in a way that enabled me to have more of a growth mindset. I also saw other people ‘fail’, as in having their code not working and having to google the solution! I have to say all the readings, the discussions, the tutorials, the Frictionless tools have been amazing, but this shift in my mindset has been the greatest gift the fellowship has given me.”
Thank you Fellows! As a bonus, here are the reflections from the first cohort of Fellows: https://blog.okfn.org/2020/06/09/reflecting-on-the-first-cohort-of-frictionless-data-reproducible-research-fellows/ (opens new window)