The ESFRI-EOSC Task Force organized a Policy Workshop titled "Prototyping the EOSC Federation: Nodes and Linkages" on 18-19 November 2024 at the University of Milan. The workshop focused on shaping the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) Federation, a model in which all components follow shared rules and are technically interconnected. The discussions brought together research infrastructures, including those featured in the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) Roadmap, that were interested in contributing as potential thematic nodes to help construct a prototype.
Thematic Nodes play a crucial role by enhancing access to and use of digital resources, facilitating research reproducibility and fostering cooperation, supporting research integrity and data sovereignty and in increasing investment potential and addressing inequalities.
Nodes are envisioned as collaborative entities formed by universities, research institutes, and stakeholders within a common geographical or thematic scope. As scientific services evolve into AI-driven solutions, robust policies and agreements must ensure trust, equity, and inclusivity, enabling seamless access to data services and advanced computational needs for all researchers.
The speakers addressed critical questions such as:
Among the participants, Czech experts shared valuable insights, including Jan Hrušák (J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry), Luděk Matyska (Masaryk University), and Petr Holub (BBMRI-ERIC).
„Research infrastructures and their thematic clusters are natural candidates for EOSC nodes. Research Infrastructures are able, by integrating knowledge and practices of the various communities, sizably increasing the value, relevance, and acceptance of EOSC services,“ pointed out Jan Hrušák from the J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry.
This workshop marked an important step in EOSC’s mission to bridge gaps and reduce inequalities in European research, ensuring that Open Science delivered its full potential in Europe and beyond.
The National EOSC CZ Conference, titled “From Storage to Repositories”, attracted over 200 participants – 113 onsite and nearly 100 online. The strong interest in the event confirmed the growing importance of research data management, open science, and the development of national and international data infrastructures.
On 10 December, a specialized workshop titled “Data management for artificial intelligence and machine learning from the perspective of the computing environment and user requirements” was held at IT4Innovations in Ostrava. This event attracted experts from academia focused on big data management, advanced computational technologies, and their applications in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
