The recent EUDAT Council Meeting and Conference, held from 2-5 December in Karlsruhe, Germany, brought together experts to discuss the future of data infrastructure in Europe.
Key topics and outcomes
The conference covered several important topics:
- Integration with EOSC: Establishing an EUDAT EOSC node to enhance collaboration with the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).
- Service Strategy Enhancement: Discussing future ambitions and objectives to improve EUDAT's service strategy.
- Distributed Data Management: Addressing challenges and solutions for managing distributed data across national and disciplinary boundaries, with a focus on FAIR-compliant tools and repositories.
- Sensitive Data Management: Focusing on managing sensitive and classified data in cross-border contexts.
EUDAT's value to Norwegian research
As the national supplier of infrastructure in Norway, our active participation in EUDAT benefits researchers using High-Performance Computing and storage services as EUDAT provides advanced data management tools such as:
- B2DROP: For secure data synchronisation.
- B2SAFE: For reliable data replication.
- B2FIND: For discovering research datasets.
- B2SHARE: For storing, publishing, and sharing research data, including SecureB2SHARE for sensitive datasets.
These tools facilitate cross-border collaboration and secure data sharing, aligning with FAIR principles and European Open Science initiatives like EOSC. This enhances the capabilities of Norwegian researchers, ensuring access to robust and interoperable data infrastructures.
Sigma2's role and contributions
Abdulrahman Azab, Senior Advisor at Sigma2, co-organised sessions on distributed data management and FAIR compliance, highlighting strategies to overcome organisational and legal barriers to international collaboration. He also led a session on managing sensitive data, ensuring compliance with access conditions, and implementing robust data processing frameworks.
The EUDAT Council Meeting and Conference highlighted the importance of collaborative efforts in advancing data infrastructure across Europe. We hope to ensure Norwegian researchers benefit from cutting-edge tools and international collaboration opportunities through our involvement.
The EUDAT Council oversees the governance and strategic direction of the EUDAT Collaborative Data Infrastructure (CDI), one of the largest pan-European networks for integrated data services. Its mission is to enable seamless and secure data sharing, storage, and preservation across borders and disciplines.