Maximising the potential of bioinformatics training materials through FAIRification

Biologists have an insatiable appetite for learning about bioinformatics approaches and methodologies, but in talking to the community we’ve realised that finding the right training events (or training materials) can be tricky.

This challenge is being faced the world over and the international bioinformatics training community has recognised that it is one we need to tackle in a coordinated way in order to deliver sustainable and scalable bioinformatics training. One of the ways that the international community is aiming to solve this problem is by making training opportunities and training materials Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR).

A number of global bioinformatics training community leaders published 10 simple rules for making training materials FAIR last year and have since been meeting regularly to discuss the practicalities of FAIRifying training opportunities and materials and to share advice. Co-author and BioCommons’ Training and Communications Officer, Melissa Burke, has been actively participating in these discussions and applying the principles to BioCommons training and materials. Melissa also co-leads a Task Force in the ELIXIR FAIR Training Focus Group. 

To help Australians connect with bioinformatics training opportunities we list our upcoming webinars and workshops on our website and in ELIXIR’s TeSS portal (a global registry of life science training events and resources), alongside a huge variety of other bioinformatics training. We’ve also encouraged other organisations like the Australian Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Society (ABACBS) to do the same.

More recently we’ve started listing detailed descriptions and training materials, like slides and handouts, from our recent events in the Australian BioCommons training Zenodo archive. This forms a stable digital archive of freely available material so that you can refer back to them after the event, use them for self-paced study or even as inspiration or foundations for your own training events (all material is licensed to allow free re-use). Our webinars are also available on the Australian BioCommons YouTube channel for you to watch at anytime.

This approach is proving to be particularly popular with lots of downloads from the BioCommons training Zenodo archive and views of the materials already. We’re also seeing added advantages of improved recognition for the effort our trainers put into developing and delivering training (supported through the use of ORCID identifiers), as well as new collaborations and ideas for future training events.  

These activities have coincided with conversations with the wider digital research skills community within Australia who have experienced similar challenges with the discoverability of their training offerings. Happily BioCommons has been able to connect the Australian eResearch digital skills community with the developers of ELIXIR’s TeSS platform and contribute to the development of a data science and eResearch training portal, Digital Research Skills Australasia (DReSA), which will provide a new way for Australians to find and access the training they need. 

Please join us on 12 Oct as we share our insights into Maximising the potential of training materials through FAIRification at eResearch Australasia 2021. Alternatively you can watch a recording of this presentation on our YouTube Channel.