The following post was written by an RDAP 2021 Summit Scholarship recipient. Scholarships were prioritized for those from under-represented groups, first-time RDAP attendees, early career professionals, and current students. Each recipient was asked to write a brief post on their conference experience.

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My name is Winny Nekesa Akullo and I work with the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority – Uganda as the Head of the Library and Documentation Centre Unit and currently the IASSIST – Africa Regional Secretary. As a research data librarian, I was intrigued about the theme of the summit “Radical Change and Data.” I looked forward to gain knowledge on research data management in the different situations and be able to share with my colleagues. I was therefore glad to participate in the RDAP Summit. First, it was unique for me that there was a “new comers” session that new comers were invited to attend. This session was a groundbreaker for me, because it exposed me to RDAP, the executive committee, and other new comers. I also got to know what the association does and how I can be involved as a member. This was unique for me because it was my first time to attend a first timer session virtually.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend all the sessions because of the time zone. I was, however, able to attend some of the sessions. I found the following presentations very useful to my current needs: Supporting Responsible Research with Big Social Data by Communities of Practice – this presentation emphasized how big social data represents a radical change especially in ways research is conducted and curated, and therefore, needs to be framed as a form of qualitative data reuse. The Radical Change for RDM in Canada – Stakeholders, Services and Synergies emphasized the need to make data more open and discoverable to the different stakeholders. In addition, the basics of accessible data visualizations during one of the lighting talks, which is very applicable to my work.

I am grateful for the scholarship which enabled me to attend the RDAP 2021. It was an opportunity for me to gain knowledge about best practices from other researchers and data professionals. Thank you very much!