Welcome everybody to this final conference of the Development
Council Data Skills for International Development Careers Projects
We're delighted to be joined by so many colleagues,
students, lecturers, development professionals from around the world.
I think we have at least 25 countries represented
among the people that have signed up for today's event.
My name is Dr.
Rachel Bennett from the University of Gloucestershire in the UK.
And I've been leading this project in collaboration
with colleagues at Massey University in Turkey, the University of Motor
and United Spain, as well as colleagues
here at the University of Gloucestershire.
And I'm going to give you a bit of an introduction to the project.
But before I do that, I just have a few points of housekeeping.
We are recording today's session, so if you'd rather
not appear in the recording, then please turn your camera and voice off.
And we have interpretation. So
the speakers will be
predominantly presenting in English,
but we have interpretation through the little play
symbol at the bottom of your screen,
and you can choose the canal you want to go into.
So there is a Spanish translation and French translation
for the first hour.
So please do you pick the language that's most suitable?
And we would really welcome questions
and comments throughout the whole event.
I'm really interested to hear what everybody has to say
about these topics.
And by default, we would love if you could do that
by using the hands up function in Zoom.
So that should appear for you along the bottom of your Zoom
screen as well.
But if you do have problems with
with your connection or you'd rather not come on audio,
then the chat function is open and please comments there.
But we'd really love to hear questions, comments as we go.
There will be question and answer portions of the talks,
but feel free to to put comments questions in as we go
So that's that's the housekeeping.
A little bit more about the development counts project,
what it's been about and broadly we've been looking at
how to support the next generation of development professionals
to harness the power of data for global and social good
And it's a project we conceived in early 2019
started late 2019 in the
the before times the pre-COVID times
But it's evolved as we've run it through
the last couple of years through the height of the pandemic.
And I think if anything, the sorts of things we're trying to do
in terms of upskill people around data
build confidence, enthusiasm for data,
for making a difference for people's lives has only become more relevant
to to the situation we find ourselves in today.
And then
we have
started the project with in-depth interviews
with development professionals in our partner countries,
asking them about what data skills are needed
in the sector currently and into the future.
And we're immensely grateful for that.
The people that took part in these interviews that was happening
March, April, May, 20, 20
when we were all getting used to new ways of working.
And we're really grateful to these professionals for coming on
video calls with us and giving us these insights into
the data skills needed in the sector.
And it's those insights from interviews
that went on to shape the whole project design
And we're really delighted that so many of the people
who gave us their time to talk to us about data skills and development
have been able to join us for this event.
Either as panelists or as guests in these sessions.
So if you feel one of those interviewees, thank you
very much again, and it's great to have you here with us
And so that was the start of the project.
And then we moved into a second phase where we were trying to come up
with a new data skills program in order to address the needs
that we that we found out about three days interviews.
And so we have developed that over the last couple of years,
tried and tested with learners at our own universities.
And this program is now available on our website
for at the universities interested individuals to make use of
and I'll be explaining a little bit more about them
and how to use them at the very end of today's conference.
But before we get to that,
we've got a fantastic set of sessions lined up for you
featuring t t panels and a keynote from Professor Support
Sabina Lee and Ali from the University of Exeter of Essex.
Sorry.
And the event has been expertly
put together by our team unit led by Dr.
Tatiana Eremenko.
And I'm now going to hand over to the Vice Dean of Research
at the Faculty of Political Science and Sociology Unit,
who is one Ignacio Martinez pastor,
who is going to give us a few words of welcome from Internet.
Into very much for return.
Well, I will speak for 5 minutes and welcome to these virtual biography
of political science and sociology of their and national and University of
Business Education, at the same time putting their lives in a reserve.
And it's an honor to welcome you to this final conference
so some some important new development goals.
And moreover, on such a fundamental topic as basic skills,
I think that one of the most
of the main missions of the university in a field.
But I would say, especially in social sciences,
is to teach how to handle data and to teach our society
and our students how to distinguish
between valid data on false data.
In my courses on data analysis and interpretation.
I always tell my students that when they see a specialist
that they seek a way to themselves and
a work that data comes from and how it has been calculated.
We know that in the information society that data becomes
the empirical argument to support a certain knowledge open.
We don't take a step in life without being informed
by the most reliable data possible.
That is why I insist it's necessary to distinguish and create
truthful data collected and collected and analyzed with rigor
as opposed to dubious and manipulated data.
And this is why this project is so necessary
And this final compromise is so interesting.
So please enjoy it.
I don't want to take up any more of your time.
So I applaud you, my dear colleague, that the anatomy school.