An investigation into the requirements of a big data stewardship training / instruction programme / curriculum

Abstract

Big data and their stewardship have become essential for environments such as the academia, as well as the corporate environment. With the ever-growing field of big data, it is becoming more and more important to be able to manage the data appropriately to achieve successful outcomes. This leads to the need for big data stewardship, which will assist with the appropriate curation of the big data at hand. In order to ensure successful big data stewardship, the big data steward will need to fulfil specific roles and responsibilities, as well as have the necessary skills to fulfil those roles and responsibilities. Although different skills are necessary for different environments and situations, a general set of skills can be identified that are appropriate in different environments. In order to adapt the skills needed for a big data steward, it was important to look at academic institutions to identify which programmes or courses these institutions are offering for the development of big data stewardship. These programmes indicate which skills are being addressed, as well as which skills are not being addressed but should be addressed. The academic literature was also consulted to identify which roles and responsibilities big data stewards are expected to fulfil, as well as which skills the steward may need. A thorough mapping analysis was done to identify the skills, roles and responsibilities needed for big data stewardship. This mapping assisted with the development of a recommended big data stewardship curriculum. Accordingly, this research study aims to create a training benchmark so that big data stewardship can grow both in South Africa, and beyond.