MDSI Data Steward Frederik Dröst kicked things off with the workshop “Applied Research Data Management” from the “Research” focus module. Here, participants learned how to solve real-world research scenarios in a structured manner using key concepts such as the FAIR principles and metadata standards, while working cooperatively. The participants worked on practical RDM challenges in interdisciplinary groups, linking theory with their own research data and presenting their solutions.

In “Pitch, Post, Repeat – Communication and Outreach for Data Scientists,” Dr. Auxane Boch addressed the question of how complex research can be communicated in a way that is generally understandable and appealing – a day full of practical exercises and creative approaches. As part of the “Outreach” focus module, the workshop aimed to equip them with the necessary skills to present themselves and their research clearly, creatively, and compellingly across social media, short public talks, and informal networking.

In the workshop “Data Wrangling with R” from the focus module “Research,” our MDSI Data Steward Dr. Gihanna Galindez introduced participants to the art of converting unstructured data sets into analyzable formats – a fundamental skill for data-driven research projects. Data wrangling is an essential skill for reproducible research and effective data analysis, and so the necessary tools, including importing data, cleaning, manipulation, tidying, merging, and summarizing datasets, were explained. 

Bianca Hartmann from UnternehmerTUM gave the last workshop of the semester, “Entrepreneurial Mindset for Data Scientists,” from the focus module “Entrepreneurship,” which aimed to promote entrepreneurial thinking in scientific and industrial contexts. The workshop was specifically tailored to doctoral researchers from data science, AI, ML, and related backgrounds. Using examples, the participants jointly identify entrepreneurial skills that are vital both as an employee and as a founder. With the help of practical exercises they become aware of their own entrepreneurial capabilities and the next steps to develop them further.

The workshops were very well received – inspiring discussions, active participation, and lively exchanges characterized the event. The organizing team, the speakers, and the motivated participants all contributed equally to the success of the event series.

Further information on the MDSI PhD program can be found here: Doctoral Studies - Munich Data Science Institute