BY-COVID D6.2 Training efforts report

The BY-COVID initiative aimed to speed up infectious disease research, surveillance, and outbreak investigation. It provided access to comprehensive, open, and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data and metadata on SARS-CoV-2, as well as other viruses and infectious diseases. This encompassed data and metadata of the COVID-19 disease across various research fields, including omics, clinical, and epidemiological research, as well as socioeconomic and humanities. 

The BY-COVID project was truly interdisciplinary, and depended on a comprehensive understanding of the data provided by project partners. This required adopting common best practices and standards to ensure data mobilisation and FAIRness, and making the best use of project resources and tools. Training, capacity building, and outreach were crucial for establishing common ground among partners and mobilising data both during and after the project.

This deliverable summarises the training efforts carried out throughout the BY-COVID project. During the initial months of the project, we identified the training needs and gaps, as well as the priority target audiences. Subsequently, we developed a roadmap for training, capacity building, and outreach activities. Following this plan, we organised 20 workshops, courses, hackathons, and bridging events with the expertise of BY-COVID partners from the technical Work Packages (WP1-WP6). These events gathered over 2000 participants, twice as many as  initially expected. Throughout the project timeline, we also gathered information on project-specific training resources available in national centres, EOSC projects, RIs, and involved partners. Additionally, we made over 70 training materials openly available and FAIR, 40% more than initially anticipated. This deliverable outlines the efforts towards delivering training, capacity building, and outreach activities during BY-COVID, along with their results, impact, and outcomes.