EPSILON aimed to transfer multidisciplinary knowledge in Data Science for Social Good (DSSG) into innovative learning materials for European HEI. By supporting European voluntary DSSG initiatives, the project generated many valuable insights about the processes and educational needs of such initiatives and transformed them into target-group oriented OER. The project thereby addressed a critical gap: the lack of open-access resources concerning best practices and workflows for DSSG associations. The EPSILON Knowledge Platform and BI Toolkit provide access to and information about workflows, analytical tools and learning materials for data enthusiasts and HEI, including many hours of free, high-quality video lectures on relevant DSSG topics. The EPSILON team also sought to establish a new data lab for DSSG volunteers in Lithuania, thus expanding the European network of voluntary data-driven social impact projects. Through these efforts, the project successfully lowered barriers for the foundation of new labs and initiatives, supported knowledge exchange across Europe and ensured that social organizations can access high-quality educational resources and data science services, fostering digital transformation and social good.
Digital Transformation presents a major challenge, with limited access to relevant knowledge. The demand for technical and methodological expertise, combined with domain knowledge, is rapidly growing, directly impacting the European job market. Data Science has emerged as a crucial field, but access to expertise still remains sparse. All across Europe, volunteer initiatives support social organizations by connecting them with volunteer data scientists, yet most of these initiatives lack standardized resources. No European Open Access platform with best practices and a map of active Data for Good initiatives has existed so far. Additionally, higher education institutions (HEI) require customized learning materials to train students and professionals in Data Science. The EPSILON project adressed these gaps by creating a European Knowledge Platform with workflows and a Business Intelligence (BI) Toolkit for Data for Good initiatives and designing innovative learning materials for higher education in the form of Open Educational Resources (OER). As there were no Data for Good initivatives in some European countries, EPSILON established a new initiative in Lithuania with the aim to provide lessons learned to facilitate transferability.