***REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED***

Join us for a free in-person community event for Figshare users in South Africa, hosted in partnership with Stellenbosch University.

The event will be held on Thursday 31st July - Friday 1st August 2025 at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies, 10 Marais Rd, Mostertsdrift Stellenbosch, South Africa.

We’d like to extend our thanks to Stellenbosch University for collaborating with us.

At this event, you will:

Participate in hands-on workshops: Choose from two practical, interactive workshops that will provide actionable insights to take back to your institution.

Learn from real-world experiences: Hear inspiring case studies and user stories showcasing how Figshare is transforming research workflows and research data management.

Network with your peers: Meet other Figshare users, share insights, and cultivate lasting connections in the community.

Discover the latest product developments: Provide feedback directly to the Figshare team, and gain exclusive insights into recent and forthcoming enhancements and updates.

Don’t miss this chance to engage with the community, learn new strategies, and help shape the future of Figshare.

Important note: The event will be held across Friday 31st July - Thursday1st August, beginning on Day 1 with a choice of 2 workshops in the morning (details below). We will then have a full afternoon of sessions followed by an evening event. Day 2 will begin at 08:30 and the event will finish at around 12:30pm.

All food, including lunch on both days and evening reception provided.

Register for free now. We look forward to seeing you there!

Please note: This event is for users and members of the Figshare community and others by invitation only. If you are not connected to our user community, we reserve the right to cancel registrations upon review.

Please contact laura@figshare.com if you have any questions.

Workshops

This 1.5 day event will begin on the morning of Thursday 31st July with a choice of two parallel workshops (08:30-12:30). These workshops are optional and you can select which one you would like to attend upon registration.

Registrants are also welcome to skip this workshop section of the agenda and join us for the beginning of the main conference programme, beginning at 12:30.

Please note that each workshop is taking place in a different location as indicated below. Depending on the workshop you choose upon registration, we will send you specific instructions and details closer to the event.

Workshop A: Powerful Data Analytics: Creating Custom Reporting Dashboards for your Figshare Repository. (Venue: E-Classroom - Learning Commons, Stellenbosch University Library)

Do you need a custom report on embargoed items? Want to see a report based on custom metadata fields? In addition to the reporting dashboards focused on repository activity and basic statistics available on the Figshare user interface, institutions may benefit from their own completely custom dashboards.

Using a prebuilt script, you will learn how to extract reporting data from your repository and use that information to populate a prebuilt Looker Studio dashboard that you can then modify to your liking. Figshare staff will be on hand to help you customise your script and dashboard(s).

By the end of the workshop, you will have one or more custom dashboards to take back to your institution to share with colleagues, as well as the knowledge to create new custom reporting dashboards.

Additional information:

A very basic repository dashboard template: https://lookerstudio.google.com/s/jNJGg35fpWA

An example dashboard template for a specific user: https://lookerstudio.google.com/s/iutllmG2xas

Limited places available, only one person per institution. No coding or data visualisation experience is required. Administrator privileges to your repository are useful but not required. Own laptop required.

Workshop B: CoreTrustSeal Trustworthy Data Repositories: Working Towards Certifying Your Figshare Repository (Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies)

Are you currently working towards getting your data repository certified? Are you planning to apply, or reapply, for CoreTrustSeal accreditation and could do with some expert guidance and tips to succeed to get you started or bring you back into focus?

The workshop will be run by colleagues from three institutions who have successfully negotiated the accreditation submission process and gained CoreTrustSeal accreditation, together with Figshare staff. During the first half, you will listen to their experiences, get tips and the do’s and don'ts to submit a successful application and will have the opportunity to ask questions. The second half will be a hands-on workshop; in small groups you will start compiling your resources and action plan, under the expert guidance of the workshop facilitators.

By the end of the workshop, you will have an action plan and a comprehensive list of the resources you’ll need to complete your application for you to take back to your institution, and would have developed a clear understanding of the best practices and effort required to submit an institutional application for CoreTrustSeal accreditation.

Additional information: https://www.coretrustseal.org/why-certification/

Unlimited places. No previous experience required. No laptop required, but you are welcome to bring yours if you prefer to work electronically.

Main conference agenda

After the workshops, we will begin our main conference agenda. Transport for Workshop A attendees from the University Library to STIAS (the main conference location), will be provided.

12:30 - 13:45 Lunch

13:45 Getting seated and ready for the conference opening

14:00 Conference opening and welcome, Professor Richard Stevens, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Teaching and Learning, Stellenbosch University

14:15 Welcome from Figshare and Digital Science, Dr Mark Hahnel, VP Open Research, Digital Science

14:25 Figshare product roadmap - highlights from recent releases and future plans, Mr Sam Gibbons Frendo, Figshare

14:45 Figshare’s metadata restructure project, Mr Sam Gibbons Frendo, Figshare

15:30 Refreshment break

16:00 The State of Open Data, Dr Mark Hahnel, Digital Science

16:30 SDGs integration on Figshare - University of Pretoria Case Study, Ms Rosina Ramokgola, University of Pretoria

16:40 Implementation of the Wits Open Data Vault - pairing Figshare with Altmetric and Dimensions, Lazarus Matizirofa, Charl Roberts, Pfano Makhera, The University of the Witwatersrand.

16:50 Stellenbosch University's research data repository (SUNScholarData) - practices, norms, and key partners, Mr Sizwe Ngobo, Stellenbosch University

17:00 Panel discussion: The importance and impact of proficient research data management

17:30 Day 1 closing, Dr Mark Hahnel, Digital Science

Evening reception from 19:00 onwards

Day 2:

08:30 Arrivals and coffee

09:00 Welcome to day 2, Dr Mark Hahnel, Digital Science

09:05 Conference keynote: South Africa Research assessment futures, Ms Nosisa Dube, National Research Foundation

09:25 DOIs, APIs and Plant Specimens: Batch uploading UCT's Bolus Herbarium Collection on ZivaHub (powered by Figshare), Dr Sanjin Muftić, University of Cape Town

09:40 User showcase presentation

09:55 Beyond Data: How UJ uses Figshare to manage other research outputs, Ms Mutali Lithole, University of Johannesburg

10:10 Streamlining research management with Symplectic Elements, Mr Daryl Naylor, Digital Science

10:30 Refreshment break and group photo

11:00 Trust in research - thought leadership session, speaker to be announced

11:20 Trends, Challenges and Opportunities in research data management and open research, interactive discussion session

12:15 Keep in touch with Figshare

12:25 Conference closing

12:30 END of conference and lunch

Figshare South Africa User Group Conference 2025