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Based on the idea that “the future reusers are, nowadays, in schools”, the Barcelona City Council organizes, once again, the Barcelona Dades Obertes Challenge, a contest with a high social impact whose main objective is to bring open data benefits closer to students and thus increase the number of people with open data knowledge and skills, taking advantage of all the benefits that entails. And it is aimed at the youngest citizens, from very soon.

What does it consist of?

The Barcelona Dades Obertes Challenge Third edition 2020 is a contest where students will have to develop real analysis and / or interpretation projects, using data sets from the Open Data BCN portal. It is intended that students apply their critical vision to suggest improvements that affect the city and the lives of its inhabitants, while discovering the potential of open data.

In addition to the Barcelona City Council, other organism that participate in the organization of the Barcelona Dades Obertes Challenge are: the Consorci d'Educació de Barcelona, ​​the Center for Specific Pedagogical Resources for Support to the Innovation and Educational Research (CESIRE) and Barcelona Activa S.A.

Who can participate?

The contest is aimed, mainly, at students from the 3rd and 4th grades of the E.S.O., and students from formative courses, prioritizing public funding centres. Participation takes place through their teachers, without restrictions by the subject they teach.

Teachers who wish can take part in a volunteer training program. There are currently 12 centers enrolled in this course, which includes training on general open data concepts, the Open Data BCN portal and tools for the treatment of data.

What is the deadline for submitting projects?

The deadline for submitting applications will open on February 17 and close on April 17, 2020.

Each centre will participate with only one project which will be evaluated by the jury of experts in the field. This jury will select a maximum of 10 projects from all the proposals received.

The students of the selected centers will have to defend their project before the jury in a final act that will be held on May 7, 2020, where the 3 finalists will be chosen.

Are you looking for inspiration? Discover the finalist projects of the 2 previous editions

The previous editions of the Barcelona Dades obertes Challenge were a success. 14 educational centers participated, more than 40 teachers and about 500 students who demonstrated their ability to acquire new knowledge and the educational opportunities offered by open data, presenting all projects of high quality and interest.

The first year, the winner was the Institut Ferran Tallada, with a work titled "Social cohesion goes by neighborhoods" that analyze social cohesion indexes (ICS) to measure and compare the city inequalities by districts. You can watch the video summary here.

The second year, the Institut Vila de Gràcia won the main award, thanks to the project “Gentrification in the neighborhoods in Barcelona”. This project showed the process of urban transformation caused by the phenomenon of gentrification, using datasets such as the number of inhabitants who leave their neighborhoods or the rent variation in € / m2. The projects of the EAT Institut Lluïsa Cura and the Institut Joan Brossa won a deserved second and third prize. You can watch the video summary here.

How can I participate?

The registration period is not yet open although the rules will be published shortly and then the call. From Barcelona City Council and datos.gob.es we will inform you of all the news that may arise.

You can follow all the information about the Barcelona Dades Obertes Challenge on twitter under the #OpenDataBCN hashtag.

The training offer does not stop in summer. Those who want to take advantage of their holidays to continue acquiring knowledge have a large number and variety of courses that cover all imaginable topics, from languages or technology tools, to theater or workshops related to social aspects. And among these issues, we could find data.

Each year, summer courses related to open data, data science or analytics grow, which demonstrates citizens interest to be trained in these subjects; something that is not surprising considering the high demand of professional with these capabilities. This year we see that courses leaves general topics to focus on more specific aspects: the importance of geographic data, the use of specific analysis and programming tools, the impact of data in specific sectors, or the advantages of data journalism to fight against false news.

In datos.gob.es we have selected some examples to illustrate this trend:

• The Summer School of the Complutense has launched the 6th edition of its course on Big & Open Data. Analysis and programming with R and Python. To attend this course, no prior knowledge is necessary. The syllabus begins with basic aspects related to Big Data, open data and open government, in order to deepen in key aspects of the development of this type of projects: the collection and integration of massive data, NoSQL databases, Paradigm MapReduce, Big Data architecture or data analysis with R or Python, among other issues. The course takes place from July 8 to 26.
• For its part, the Public University of Navarre organizes, together with the City Council of Pamplona and the Government of Navarra, a course on Geographic Information Systems and Open Data, from June 19 to 21. The course is divided into two clearly differentiated parts: a first part aimed at general public interested in open data policies and their implications; and a second part more practical aimed at professionals with basic knowledge of programming skills, interested in Geographic Information Systems tools.
• The Polytechnic University of Valencia has launched a new edition of the Summer School of Transparency and Data Management Chair. During three days, from June 19 to 21, a series of workshops will be focused on fake news. Through examples and case studies, students can learn to detect false information in different contexts: social networks, news or visualizations. In addition, the influence of these contents among public opinion will be discussed.
• The International University of Andalusia offers, from 10 to 12 July, a Journalism on research, data and reporting workshop, organized together with El Confidencial and Unicaja Banco. The course will discuss transparency, combative journalism, and also post-truth and fake news. It is aimed at students of journalism and communication, but any citizen interested in the subject can also participate.
• The University of Malaga organizes a course entitled Data protection and transparency: conflicts and balance. The course will take place from July 17 to 19, and will analyze the regulation on data protection contained in the General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union and the Law of transparency, access to public information and good governance. The objective is to address the conflicts between data protection and the right of access to information, to offer some guidelines that help achieve a balance between both rights.
• The Autonomous University of Madrid has launched the Big Data course in the agri-food sector. Fundamentals and applications, from July 22 to 24. The course aims to show a complete view of the competitive advantages that Big Data brings to the sector, as well as to teach students to exploit and extract value from data obtained through remote sensor or IoT devices.
• Finally, the University of Barcelona offers, from July 1 to 5, the course Lights and shadows of the massive data, where the role of data in the health sector is analyzed. Among other questions, the course will try to respond to the following statements: What are massive data and how do they originate? How do they affect society and innovation? Is privacy a problem to work with massive data in the health sector? What is Deep Learning?

In addition to these courses, in datos.gob.es you can also find a series of training materials that will help you acquire more knowledge about open data.

Analytical skills, data management, or knowledge of business intelligence tools ... These are just some of the terms that we surely find repeated if we perform a quick search in the most popular job portals.

Data has become a fundamental element of our economy, and it is not surprising that companies increasingly demand more profiles with these capabilities. Specific profiles are searched (as data scientists), as well as multidisciplinary professionals that encompass different areas of knowledge. One of these areas is data. In addition, even if you are already a professional with knowledge in this area, data is a constantly evolving field, so updating your knowledge is necessary to be up-to-day of new trends and techniques.

A few months ago, datos.gob.es made a compilation of some degrees, masters and courses to acquire or improve data management and analysis capabilities. In the article, we talked about the shortage of talent in these areas. As we commented, the offer does not stop growing, reason why we have considered appropriate to make a new compilation:

• Carlos III University of Madrid has been one of the pioneers in training options for data analysis. The University offers two masters (Master in Big Data Analytics and Master in Statistics for Data Science) that are taught entirely in English, aimed at people with knowledge of Computer Science, statistics or mathematics who want to improve their knowledge. In addition, it also offers two degrees: Degree in Data Science and Engineering and Degree in Statistics and Business. While the fist one emphasizes new digital technology tools, including statistics, artificial intelligence or machine learning, the second one is more focused on the business sector and the training of professionals with quantitative skills, capable of transforming data into useful information for decision making in sectors such as finance, banking, insurance or business consulting.

• The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya also offers a Degree in Applied Data Science, with the aim of training experts in the capture, analysis and visualization of data. Students will acquire knowledge of programming, mathematics, statistics, and management, essential to creatively develop their activity as a data scientist. This center also offers a Master's Degree in Data Science, to train expert professionals in data analysis, whether in big data environments, word processing, analysis of social networks or data in geolocalized environments. Its offer of shorter courses also highlight: specialized in specific subjects such as Python Programming for Data Science or Fundamentals of Business Intelligence.

• The University of Deusto has a Big Data and Business Intelligence Program aimed at a heterogeneous audience: 50% of its students come from t business area and the remaining 50% are technical profiles. Its objective is to train professionals capable of completing complete data analysis cycles (extraction, management, processing (ETL) and visualization) to offer business intelligence services to organizations, companies and individuals.

• The University of Valencia has developed a Data Science Degree and a University Master in Data Science. Both courses cover from the exploratory analysis of data to techniques of advanced visualization or machine learning.
• In addition, business schools specializing in Big Data, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence technologies such as MBIT School are emerging. Its training offer is divided into Master Executive Programs, for people seeking a change through new knowledge, Expert Programs, to acquire knowledge in a specific area through their business application, and specific Programs designed to provide concrete knowledge in a reduced time and in a practical way. Some examples are the executive master in data science for professionals or the expert program in artificial intelligence for the company. The methodology that follows is the “learning by doing”: the students have theoretical-practical classes whit sets of real data to apply the different algorithms / concepts that are taught during the classes.

• Highlight also the training offer of organizations such as the Barcelona Open Data Initiative, the ODI node in Catalonia, which offers degrees in open data with internationally recognized certification. Through Open Data School Barcelona, ​​2 certificates are offered: Higher Certificate in Governance, oriented to the application of open data in public administration, and the Professional Degree in Data Journalism, aimed at journalists who want to learn how to transform data into information of public interest.

This is just a selection, but there are many more options. We encourage you to share in the comments other courses, masters or degrees related to data that you consider of interest.

Data is one of the main forces that move our economic and social environment. The data allow us to make better decisions at the right time and place, make predictions about how a market will change or know the impact of the last measures . Therefore, more and more companies and organizations seek to develop a strategy based on data, but they find a problem: they need professionals who know how to capture, integrate, analyze and extract value from different sources of information, both public and private.

The shortage of talent is one of the main challenges that organizations have to face when talking about data management and analysis. As the report Generation of Big Data talent in Spain, carried out by the Fundación Cotec para la Innovación,already indicated, there is a growing demand for professionals specialized in fields such as big data, data science or data architecture, among others. In addition, organizations need professionals who know open data environment. The main solution to this challenge lies in education.

The educational centers are aware of this situation. Universities and schools have increased the offer around data. Many of these courses, degrees and postgraduate have included subjects focused on open data, as a key source of knowledge that, just alone or integrated with private data, can help better explain and understand the environment, or be used as a basis to generate new value-added services and products. Here we have some examples:

• The Technical University of Cataluña offers the continuous blended learning course Maps and Open Data: programming, organization and analysis of Geodata. This course, whose next edition begins on December 12, is part of the itinerary of the Master's Degree in Geographic Information Systems and the postgraduate GIS Technologies. During the course, students could learn about formats, visualization techniques and the treatment of geometries and geodata in web applications. The course is aimed at any professional who wants to work with data, from social areas such as economics, politics or journalism to scientific and technological fields.
• On October 26 the Complutense University of Madrid starts its own Master´s degree in Big Data and Business Analytics. This master is focused on the design, management, analysis and exploitation of large volumes of data for its implementation within the business strategy and decision making. Among topics such as machine learning, Python, Hadoop or Spark, they include a module focused on open government trends, as well as data sources and open algorithms. Unlike the previous example, this master is aimed at a technical profile audience.
• The University of Alcalá also dedicates a module of the Master´s degree in Business Intelligence and data science and of the Master´s degree in Data Science to the different models of databases and the obtaining of information from public sources. Aimed to technical students, both masters seek to create professionals who want to acquire knowledge of Big Data, Business Intelligence, Machine Learning, Business Analytics and data visualization as a competitive advantage.
• For its part, the University of Salamanca has launched the Master's Degree in Big Data with a module called Introduction to Big Data. Storage and Open Data, where the importance of open data and their world of possibilities and applications are pointed out. It starts on October 15.
• Open data has also leaked into online training. In addition to the well-known MOOCs, nowadays we can find national masters such as the Master´s degree in Business Intelligence and Big Data offered by Escuela de Organización industrial. This course address the reuse of public open data, the opening of business data, the use of APIs and the development of strategies based on open data.
• Finally, training in specific vertical areas that use data, such as journalism, is also increasing. An example is the Master's degree in research, visualizations and data journalism, from  Internacional University of La Rioja or Master's degree in data journalism from University Center Villanueva. Its objective is learning how to transform data and information into visual stories by applying statistics, data mining, infographics, design and visualization.

All these courses show how universities are adapting their programs to the current technological changes, but the reform in education must go further. The experts also demand the increase of these subjects in the previous stages of education, both in primary and secondary education. In this way, it will help even more to boost the generation of the talent that the market demands.

Summer is coming and, as usual, it is time for holidays. A date marked on our agenda to rest, sightseeing or be with our loved ones. But it is also a good opportunity to improve our knowledge in specific fields, through the different summer courses that universities and schools put at our disposal.

Among the many summer courses topic, it should be noted that more and more centres are including training programs related to open data, analytics and Big Data. This fact is not surprising, because, as we have said on previous occasions, there is a great demand for professionals focused on these fields. Although these subjects are gradually included in the regulated offer, there are many students who make the most of the summer to complement their training and gain competitive advantages to improve their position in the labour market.

Open data courses

This year, we highlight the offer of open data courses focused on their value to promote open government. This is the case of the Transparency through data course, which will take place between June 26th and 28^th, organized by the Universitat Politècnica de València for the third year in a row. This course will address citizen participation in political life through open data, and its reuse to create valuable applications related to social justice or citizen privacy, among other issues.

On the same dates, the course Technopolitics, digital democracy and new social movements, of the International University of Andalusia, is held in Seville. Students will analyse for two days (June 26th and 27th) the influence of technology on democracy through concepts such as technopolitics, digital democracy, open data or open government.

Big data and data analysis

The offer of Big Data courses is increasingly focused on use cases related to this technology. As an example, the course Big Data: technological foundations and practical applications, of the University of Alicante. This course seeks to introduce the concept of Big Data through its applications in the real world, making known various storage and processing techniques used for working with massive data, in a practical way. This course will take place from July 16th to 20th.

In addition, it can be seen that there are more and more specific courses that address particular Big Data applications in specific fields. This is the case of the Big Data and Social Sciences Course, held by the University of Oviedo from September 10th to 12th. This course focuses on the opportunities and challenges of using large-scale datasets in the social sciences. During the course, a case study on open data will be worked on, with the objective that the students understand the whole process of an investigation.

For its part, the University of Extremadura has launched the course Big Data and Machine Learning together with open data sources to specialize the agricultural and livestock sector from September 25th to 27th. This course will discuss the technology behind aspects such as the monitoring of the growth of crops or animals, the traceability of the products, the identification of the products quality, the prediction of pests or the optimization of fertilizers use, among others.

Data analysis tools courses

Finally, we also want to highlight the courses offer focused on data analysis and visualization tools.

One more year, the Complutense University of Madrid offers its Geolocated Big Data course: tools for the capture, analysis and visualization from 9th to 27th July, where students will download and process geolocated data from sources such as social networks, GPS or even drones.

This university also offers, for the fifth year in a row, its BIG & OPEN DATA course. Analysis and Programming with R and Python from 9th to 27th July. This course is based on a basic level and is aimed at students from different branches, from geography and economics to engineering and computing. In recent years, R has become the leading software tool for statistical analysis, so more and more schools offer courses related to this subject. The Pompeu Fabra University also joins this list with the Modern Satation Computing in R course, from June 25th to July 27th.

In addition, the University of Cantabria offers a Big Data with Python workshop, from July 30th to August 3th, where different practical cases of data management and analysis will be addressed. This course is aimed at students in the final years of the physics, mathematics, telecommunications and industrial degrees and requires prior programming knowledge.

These are just some examples of courses, but the offer is very broad. It is therefore a good time for those interested in enriching their professional profile to analyze which areas of competence they want to improve and find the course that best meets their needs.

The DCAT-AP application profile aims to describe, using metadata, the catalogs and datasets of European open data portals. For this, DCAT-AP is based on Data Catalogs Vocabulary (DCAT), published by W3C. In particular, the DCAT-AP is a specification that describes a series of restrictions (such as properties range) on the DCAT model.

In a context of continue economic, technological and social changes, this application profile is constantly evolving and improving to meet users demands. The organism in charge of managing the maintenance and evolution of DCAT-AP is JoinUp, a collaborative platform created by the European Commission and financed by the European Union through the ISA and ISA² Programs. Through this tool, different versions of DCAT-AP and guidelines for their standard implementations have been published.

To help those organizations that have doubts about how to apply this profile, here there are the main DCAT-AP documents and resources available in JoinUp:

In addition to these resources, there are force task that have developed reports applied to specific fields, such as research field. For their part, W3C itself has also published reports and tools to help users, such as this guide called dataset Exchange Use Cases and requirements, in this case focused on DCAT.

To be informed about all changes that take place and the documents that are published, users can subscribe to the GitHub project created to share experiences, challenges and suggestions of new features.

Datos.gob.es is also part of Joinup''s collaborators network, so we actively participate in the dissemination of the contents and resources created to facilitate the implementation of DCAT-AP. If you want to know more about DCAT-AP application profile, we recommend the report: DCAT-AP and its extensions: Context and evolution.

Europe’s open data portal has added three new training modules to its online training guide, which offers e-learning in several languages regarding fundamental aspects of open data, as well as providing supporting material.

The three new training units are in addition to the 13 online teaching units or training modules designed by the European Data Portal that were already available. They are as follows:

• Advocating for open data (lesson 14)

This addresses the fact that data openness requires a change in the culture of organisations and companies and how data openness can be valuable in driving business innovation, developing a clearer image, and improving services and products. This module explores the benefits and advantages of open data, what problems the user is solving, and shows how to identify different groups and communities

• Managing change in open data (lesson 15)

This module explores the management of change in open data and the key elements for developing an effective long-term transition process in an organisation. The cultural changes necessary to succeed with open data are thought to comprise a significant process of adaptation. The user of this unit will learn to identify what change management is, why it is so important in open data initiatives, and what the key elements of change management are.

• Making an impact with open data (lesson 16)

The goal of any open data project or initiative is to have some kind of impact, whether that be political transparency and accountability, social benefit, or economic growth. This module explores the importance of making an impact with open data, how to do it, and how to measure it. In addition, examples are given of open data being used to improve our daily lives and how the barriers to achieving this impact can be overcome.

The 16 teaching units that are now available on the open data portal are short in duration. Each one is estimated to last between one and three hours. 

Each session addresses a different aspect of open data. The sessions are suitable for users of all levels, from beginners to experts. In addition, supporting teaching materials are freely available under the CC-BY-SA (Creative Commons Share-Alike Attribution) license.

The European data portal’s e-learning programme offers a simple and clear introduction to open data and to all the facets of this new discipline and is structured in modules that provide up to two hours of additional reading for those who want to delve deeper into a specific area. In addition to the concepts and definitions related to the world of open data, the European data portal’s online training guide also presents success stories of open data across Europe, the main trends in open data, how data is published, how it is accessed, and how it is reused.

Datos abiertos, open data, linked open data, big data, data scientist, data… Lo relacionado con los datos, y especialmente con los datos abiertos en el sector público, está adquiriendo una gran relevancia en los últimos tiempos. La oferta formativa sobre el ámbito de los datos abiertos está creciendo de manera progresiva y, junto a los másters, postgrados y ciclos formativos especializados, los cursos de verano son una opción interesante para iniciar o ahondar en la formación de materias específicas.

Exponemos algunos de los cursos de verano open data que se ofertan durante el verano de 2017. La Universidad Complutense de Madrid ha colgado ya el cartel de completo en la cuarta edición del curso Big and Open Data. Análisis y programación con R y Python que se imparte del 3 al 21, en horario de 9 a 14 horas. Enmarcado en la Escuela de Ciencias Experimentales, la Complutense ofrece también el curso Big Data en diferentes escenarios enfocado al manejo de bases de datos. La Universidad de Alicante imparte Big Data: fundamentos y aplicaciones prácticas, un curso práctico centrado en técnicas de almacenamiento y procesamiento utilizadas para el trabajo con datos masivos, en el que se abordan tecnologías punteras en entornos Big Data como Spark y herramientas para el análisis de datos (estructurados y textuales) como R. La fecha es del 17 al 21 de julio y ofrece becas.

Del 3 al 5 de julio, la UNED ofrece el curso Tecnologías semánticas y herramientas lingüísticas para humanidades digitales en el que se abordan los datos enlazados, metadatos, modelos de datos y Linked Open Data. Asimismo,Rainer Open School organiza un ciclo de formación en modalidad semipresencial en torno al data scientist (científico de datos) - Curso de verano semipresencial: Certificación EMC Data Scientist- en el que se acredita la certificación EMC-DS con validez internacional. El curso puede hacerse casi en su totalidad en la distancia. Esta misma semana, la sede de los cursos de verano de la Universidad de El Escorial (Madrid) acoge el curso Fórmulas de éxito del periodismo de datos. Diseño, programación, Internet y multimedia que se realiza del 26 al 28 de junio.

Asimismo, Iniciativa Barcelona Open Data ha organizado este verano una semana formativa en datos abiertos, concretamente los días 11, 12 y 13 de julio. Esta iniciativa se enmarca en la Escuela Ciudadana Open Data Lab y pretende aproximar esta materia a ciudadanos y pequeñas y medianas empresas.

De modo paralelo a la oferta de cursos de verano recordamos también la oferta de cursos en línea sobre datos abiertos en datos.gob.es. Desde este mismo portal puedes acceder libremente a unidades formativas sobre datos abiertos, herramientas, marco normativo, la reutilización, APIs y Linked Data, etcétera.