Foundations of Research Data Management for GIS

5 Feb 2026, 16:00 → 5 Mar 2026, 17:30 Europe/Zurich

Nick Bearman (Freelance)

This hands-on course introduces you to essential Research Data Management (RDM) practices tailored specifically for GIS workflows in the Earth Science Systems community. Whether you work with satellite data, environmental models, or field observations, you’ll learn how to manage, organize, and share your spatial data more efficiently and reproducibly.

Through a mix of short self-paced online modules and five weekly 1-hour interactive sessions, you’ll discover practical strategies for:

• Streamlining your GIS data processes

• Improving collaboration within research teams

• Applying FAIR principles to real-world spatial datasets

• Avoiding common pitfalls in geospatial data management

Dates and topics of the weekly online meetings are below. 

Developed by expert GIS trainer Dr. Nick Bearman and supported by a global network of RDM specialists at the Digital Research Academy, this course gives you the confidence and tools to take your data management to the next level.

This self-paced course is hosted on the NFDI4Earth Education Portal where you can work through the materials yourself in your own time.

However, if you want to learn with peers and an instructor, then sign up for this course by Jan 31, 2026! 

This course was developed by the Digital Research Academy for the NFDI4Earth Consortium.

Thursday 5 February

16:00 → 17:30 Session: 1

16:00 Introductions and Course Setup

16:30 GIS Basics

Thursday 12 February

16:00 → 17:30 Session: 2

16:00 Applying RDM to GIS

Thursday 19 February

16:00 → 17:30 Session: 3

16:00 FAIR principles and GIS

Thursday 26 February

16:00 → 17:30 Session: 4

16:00 Collaboration and sharing GIS

Thursday 5 March

16:00 → 17:30 Session: 5

16:00 Existing tools and applications

17:00 Course Wrap Up