Short courses are available to attendees who signed up in advance and paid an additional a short course fee. If you signed up for this short course, you should have received a direct link to it by email on Thursday.While graduate students in ecology learn about methods for collecting and analyzing ecological data, there is less emphasis on managing and using the resulting data effectively. This is an increasingly important skill set as the research landscape changes. Researchers are increasingly engaging in collaboration across networks, many funding agencies require data management plans, journals are requiring that data and code be accessible, and society is increasingly expecting that research be reproducible. Ecologists can maximize the productivity of their research program with good data skills, in that they can effectively and efficiently share their data and other research products with the scientific community, and potentially benefit from the re-use of their data by others. The purpose of this short course is to give attendees an introduction to a set of practical tools for organizing and sharing their data through all parts of the research cycle. The target audience is early-career scientists but is open to any researcher who would benefit from developing better data management skills. Topics will include data organization, data documentation, and the importance of good data management practices for data sharing, collaboration, and data re-use. The short course will be an interactive combination of presentation, discussion and activities. Participants must bring their own laptop to work on exercises.The $25 fee for this short course includes access to the live session and any uploaded supporting documents during and after the conference.