OLS & NASA Transform to Open Science

Teaching NASA-TOPS Open Science 101 in English

Bérénice Batut (CC BY-SA 4.0)

About

Get ready for an exciting new series of cohorts on open science in collaboration with NASA-TOPS.

Funded by NASA, OLS will offer 6-week-long virtual cohorts — Nebula — not just once, but five times each year over the next three years.

We will bring our cohort-based approach, incorporating hands-on learning and individual coaching throughout the training.

Register your interest as a participant, expert or facilitator.

Program overview

The Nebula program (Open Science 101) is a comprehensive 6-week training program designed for participants at any career stage. The program integrates practical training with individual coaching, supporting participants to apply open science principles, skills, and tools in their work.

Who is this training for?

This training is aimed at researchers, research-supporting staff, and people who want to integrate best practices for open and reproducible research in new or ongoing projects. Our program is accessible to participants at any career level, from undergraduates to senior scientists, fostering an inclusive environment for those taking their first steps in open science. It will be of particular interest to individuals or teams seeking to develop or improve an Open Science strategy or Data Management plan for their research work, whether it is in the proposal stage or already prepared to disseminate results.

Ideas for short projects to work during the program include:

Training format and content

Our cohorts provide structured training covering the Open Science 101 Curriculum. Each week, we explore one open science module, with expert speakers from diverse scientific domains guiding hands-on learning. Sessions feature practical assignments, empowering learners to actively implement open science concepts and tools in their work.

Synchronous training sessions take place on Zoom, twice a week. The sessions are delivered in English with automatic live captions. Recordings are openly accessible after the calls. The program also provides opportunities to connect with fellow participants.

Individual participants or teams meet with an expert for weekly coaching sessions to receive personalized feedback on their project.

Upon graduation, participants receive a digital badge certifying their completion of NASA’s Open Science 101 curriculum and an OLS certificate. The expected time commitment for this training is 4-4.5 hrs per week.

The schedule for individual cohorts is shown below:

Cohort timeline   Open Science 101 Curriculum modules Weeks
      1 2 3 4 5 6
Cohort Calls



90 min, twice a week



Ethos X          
Tools & Resources   X        
Data     X      
Code       X    
Results         X  
Final Graduation Group presentations             X
Expert coaching 30 minutes coaching with an expert from the program   X X X X X  
Work on assignments
 
 
Self-led by participants
  • Assignments to apply learned skills in research projects
  • prep for final presentations
  •  
     
     
    X
     
     
    X
     
     
    X
     
     
    X
     
     
    X
     
     


     

    Pricing

    Our pilot cohort is offered free of charge.

    Subsequent cohorts may involve a modest fee, with a number of spots available for fee waivers. Our commitment is to make this program accessible to all who are eager to participate.

    Join us

    Our pilot cohort will run from March 11 until April 19.

    Registration is now open for both participants and experts. We look forward to having you on board for this exploration into open science!

    Participants: Please register your interest as a participant through this form.

    Experts and facilitators: Please register your interest as an expert or facilitator through this form.

    Upcoming sessions

    The expected timeline for upcoming sessions in 2024 is below:

    Cohort timeline Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
    Applications   X   X   X     X     X
    Pilot Cohort     X X                
    Cohort 2         X X            
    Cohort 3             X X        
    Cohort 4                   X X  

    Si te interesa participar de las cohortes de formación en ciencia abierta de NASA-TOPS en idioma español, por favor contacta a nuestra comunidad amiga MetaDocencia.

    Want more information?

    We will be updating this post as we finalize further details. Watch this space! For more information, you can read our full proposal jointly awarded with our partner organization MetaDocencia.