Let's talk Data Autonomy!

The "Let's talk Data Autonomy!" event was part of a series of events that took place in order to understand how the different groups within the UG understand the concept of Data Autonomy.

The event was hosted and opened by Ronald Stolk, Director of CIT, who explained “Why a journey towards data autonomy” is needed. This was followed by Oskar Gstrein, ambassador of the project, who presented “The changing context of data autonomy. International law, political agendas, conflict of interests, and the role of big tech”.

There were two key speakers. Dries Depoorter, the Belgian artist showed “Data in real life: data can be abstract or conceptual and therefore makes you wonder ‘how does it affect me?’. Finally Bart Jacobs, an expert on the topic, was holding a presentation on the “Journey towards data autonomy: what does it mean?”.

After the topic introduction, the participants were divided into seven groups representing the different roles within the university and had a break-out session. The groups were:

• Big Data Specialists
• ICT & Security Specialists
• Policymakers, Law and Privacy specialists
• Researchers
• Students
• Support & Management Staff
• Teachers

The different groups spoke about the topic and presented their findings on a poster at the end of the session. In this way, they demonstrated their individual understanding, interests, and concerns.

Outcomes of the event

The outcomes of the event were the following:

• There is a clear interest in getting more Data Autonomy at the UG. Some participants joined because they already had some knowledge about the topic and wanted to contribute, and others came because they wanted to learn more about it.
• There was a clear tendency to opt for more Open Source software in teaching and research.
• There are concerns about how to keep a good balance between Data Autonomy and security.