What are Ad‑hoc Courses and Events?

Ad‑hoc courses and events are short, targeted learning initiatives that complement SoBigData Academy programmes and training opportunities by addressing specific needs of communities, projects, or organisations. It also covers technological innovation, resource optimization, data lifecycle management, and the tools provided by the SoBigData. They combine expert talks, hands‑on sessions, and guided experimentation with SoBigData tools to help participants adopt responsible, data‑driven practices in their daily work.

Main thematic areas

Technological innovation

Events showcase how emerging methods in social mining, big data analytics, and AI can be deployed through SoBigData tools and virtual research environments. 

• Demo sessions on new analytical workflows and libraries.
• Use‑case presentations from research, public sector, and industry.
• Q&A with tool developers and data scientists.

Resource optimization

Courses explain how to exploit SoBigData computational and data resources efficiently, from accessing datasets to scaling experiments on the e‑infrastructure.

• Best practices for selecting and combining datasets.
• Guidance on scheduling and monitoring large‑scale experiments.
• Tips to reuse workflows and share results across teams.

Data lifecycle management

Sessions introduce practical approaches to manage the full data lifecycle, from ingestion and curation to analysis, publication, and reuse, in line with FAIR and FACT principles.

• Structuring metadata and documentation for reuse.
• Handling privacy, consent, and ethical constraints on social data.
• Publishing datasets and methods via SoBigData catalogues.

Focus on SoBigData tools

Many ad‑hoc courses are built around concrete toolchains available in the SoBigData ecosystem, including catalogues, virtual research environments, notebooks, and domain‑specific applications.

Participants learn through guided labs, step‑by‑step tutorials, and small challenges that help them integrate SoBigData services into ongoing research projects, teaching activities, and innovation initiatives.

Who are these activities for?

Ad‑hoc courses and events are designed for students, early‑stage researchers, senior scientists, data stewards, and professionals who require tailored training in data‑intensive methods and responsible AI.

They can be organised on demand for specific communities, thematic networks, or project consortia that want to strengthen their skills in social data analytics and data lifecycle management.

Join or request an ad‑hoc course

To discover upcoming SoBigData courses and events, visit the events, our schools, our mobility program and explore the Academy offerings.

If you are interested in organising a dedicated ad‑hoc course or event for your organisation or project, contact the SoBigData at info@sobigdata.eu.