The UCC digital badge in the Responsible Conduct of Research was launched in 2019 and has been recently reimagined for online delivery in 2020. The topics covered centre on Research Integrity, the FAIR Data Principles, Data Management and Reproducible Research. Most funding bodies, both Irish and European, now require evidence of training on these topics. Sections on Open Data and data management are included at application stage as a minimum or a data management plan is required as a first deliverable. The EU’s Horizon 2020 research funding programme had a more specific set of rules on research integrity to be followed by beneficiaries. This is carried forward to Horizon Europe, where Open Data will be the default, and data management plans are required for all funded projects.

The digital badge in the Responsible Conduct of Research is innovative and team-based training which will fulfil research integrity training requirements set by your funder, alongside an introduction to data management and  will highlight where supports are to be found within the University. It was recently recognised as a “Pocket of Promise” in Nature, Research Integrity; nine ways to move from talk to walk. It has also been the subject of a guest blog on the UK Research Integrity Office website.  

The UCC digital badge in the Responsible Conduct of Research is delivered by members of staff drawn from UCC Library, the Research Support Service and the Clinical Research Facility - Cork.   

The badge is open to members of UCC’s Research Community across each of the four colleges, and all research career stages (postgraduate research students, postdoctoral researchers, research fellows, PIs/supervisors/mentors, research leaders & senior/academic staff and research support staff). It is ideally suited to research groups or research units, with shared data structures and working practices and is designed to encourage wider adoption and uptake of these principles collectively within whole research teams/departments/schools/colleges. The full day in-person workshop is tailored to the specific needs the group. All members of a research team can participate but it is essential for the Lead Researchers/PIs to be present and actively engaged.

Course Content & Requirements

• Self-directed learning through Canvas
• In-person workshop (9.30am to 4.30pm)
• Submission of a reflective exercise 
• Completion of the online Epigeum Research Integrity course. For registration and further information see Epigeum Online Research Integrity Training

Contact

Informal enquiries can be made by contacting:

• Dr Irene Kavanagh, researchintegrity@ucc.ie, (Research Integrity Support), UCC Research, OVPRI.
• Dr Aoife Coffey, (Research Data Management Coordinator), Research & Digital Services, UCC Library.