This text reports on the impact of a training course offered by a multiplier trainer from the School of Data network.
From July 18–19, 2025, Bioinformatics Outreach Nigeria (BON) successfully hosted a 2-day virtual training on “Quality and Consistent Data with Open Data Editor (ODE)”, specifically tailored for early-career life scientists across Nigeria and other parts of Africa (which include Tunisia, Benin, Egypt, Morocco, and Kenya). The event brought together 30 passionate participants ranging from undergraduate students to graduate researchers and aspiring bioinformaticians, all eager to better understand open data practices and their applications in research.
This beginner-friendly training served as an abridged, hands-on introduction to the Open Data Editor (ODE), a desktop tool developed by the Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN). Through guided sessions, participants learned how to curate, clean, annotate, and manage open data, with direct application in the life sciences and bioinformatics fields.
Hands-On Learning: Real Data, Real Insights
Using data such as COVID-19 genomic metadata from GISAID and custom datasets like dog genomic metadata, participants explored how to:
- Detect inconsistencies and errors in datasets
- Access and edit metadata
- Create new data files in compliant formats
- Upload, manage, and reuse curated datasets
- Evaluate datasets for FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) standards using the ARDC FAIR Data Self-Assessment Tool
Despite a minor technical delay on the second day, participants remained highly engaged. Many worked with their research data during the sessions—an exercise that revealed both errors and opportunities to enhance the quality of their datasets. One participant reflected that, “the hands-on learning experience was very valuable, and I gained practical insights into open data curation and annotation using ODE. I also appreciate the follow-up resources you shared, especially the links to the full self-paced course, ODE documentation, and the FAIR Data Self-Assessment Tool. I’ll be exploring these further to deepen my understanding.”
Encouraging Lifelong Learning
This training was delivered as a step-down version of the full self-paced course developed by OKFN, and we strongly encouraged both selected and unselected participants to enroll in the full course for a more in-depth learning experience:
👉 Quality and Consistent Data with Open Data Editor’
Participants were also introduced to helpful resources, including:
Community and Next Steps
As part of our commitment to supporting an open data culture in Africa, we are excited to (both on WhatsApp and on Slack) where we will continue to share resources, peer learning, and project opportunities. All participants are invited to join us on both WhatsApp and Slack.
Lastly, participants who attended both days and completed the required pre- and post-training surveys received certificates.
About the Open Data Editor
The Open Data Editor (ODE) is Open Knowledge’s new open source desktop application for nonprofits, data journalists, activists, and public servants, aiming at helping them detect errors in their datasets. It’s a free, open-source tool designed for people working with tabular data (Excel, Google Sheets, CSV) who don’t know how to code or don’t have the programming skills to automatise the data exploration process.
Simple, lightweight, privacy-friendly, and built for real-world challenges like offline work and low-resource settings, ODE is part of Open Knowledge’s initiative The Tech We Want — our ambitious effort to reimagine how technology is built and used.
And there’s more! ODE comes with a free online course that can help you improve the quality of your datasets, therefore making your life/work easier.
↪ Take the course: Learn how to use ODE
All of Open Knowledge’s work with the Open Data Editor is made possible thanks to a charitable grant from the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. Learn more about its funding programmes here.
