About this course
This course introduces you to the Metis Sandbox, Europeana’s test environment for evaluating datasets before publication on Europeana.eu. It is designed for data providers, cultural heritage professionals, and anyone involved in preparing or managing metadata for Europeana.
You’ll learn how to use the Sandbox to test your datasets, identify issues, and improve the quality of your content and metadata before entering the official ingestion workflow. This helps ensure a smoother publication process and better visibility of your collections.
What you'll learn
Through practical guidance and hands-on activities, you will learn how to:
- Upload and process data in the Metis Sandbox.
- Monitor workflow steps and understand processing results.
- Interpret validation reports, quality tiers, and detected issues.
- Identify opportunities to improve metadata and media quality.
- Preview how records will appear on Europeana.eu.
Who is this course for?
This course is intended for anyone involved in preparing, managing, or delivering cultural heritage metadata to Europeana, including:
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Cultural heritage professionals working in museums, archives, or libraries.
- Data providers and aggregators contributing content to Europeana.
- Anyone using the Metis Sandbox to test and improve datasets.
No prior experience with Europeana ingestion tools is required.
Requirements
To complete this course, you will need:
- A computer with an internet connection.
- Access to a web browser.
- Ideally, a second screen to follow the course while using the Sandbox.
⏲ Estimated time to complete: 45–60 minutes, depending on your experience with Europeana datasets and metadata workflows.
Course staff
Jochen Vermeulen
Jochen has been involved with the development of the Metis Sandbox since its inception, initially as a software developer, and since 2021 as the team's manager, and product owner of the Metis suite as a whole. He designed and has since been leading a recurring live Sandbox training. His drive is to facilitate and empower the valuable work his team does and he is passionate about making robust, usable and maintainable software that helps users do meaningful things and makes their lives better at the same time.
Deepti Pandit
Deepti holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering, and her career naturally evolved into software testing, a field that aligns strongly with her interests and strengths. She currently works as a tester supporting two teams: Metis and Service Experience. Within the Metis team, She is responsible for testing all three core applications - Metis, Sandbox, and the Statistics Dashboard. Her work includes validating new features, verifying functional changes, and performing thorough regression testing to ensure system stability and prevent issues introduced by new updates. In the Service Experience team, She tests all changes and enhancements made to the Europeana Portal, ensuring that updates are delivered without impacting existing functionality. In addition to her testing responsibilities, She contributed to the Metis Sandbox training by preparing comprehensive training materials and sample datasets.
These resources help new users understand how to create, track, and review datasets, explore different upload methods, and verify published records after processing.
Jorge Ortiz
Jorge is a member of metis team that builds and maintains the development of metis sandbox and other software tools that curate data ingestion into Europeana portal and much more. Also with a career spanning adult and higher education, he brings a blend of practical teaching experience, academic and technical depth to this course. Volunteering in adult literacy education, he spent years helping learners of all backgrounds master foundational skills — reading, writing, basic arithmetic, and the basics of natural sciences. This experience instilled a deep respect for every learner's journey and an understanding that great teaching means meeting people exactly where they are. Finding fascinating how he can inspire others to achieve a next level in their life and learn new skills.
