On May 21–22, 2025, Brno hosted the Research Data Day & EOSC National Tripartite Event, gathering over 200 researchers, data specialists, and infrastructure professionals from 40 European institutions. The conference investigated the evolving interplay between scientific research and data, with particular attention to the technical and organizational challenges of preparing data for artificial intelligence applications and the further development of research infrastructures in Europe.

The conference commenced with introductory remarks from Šárka Pospíšilová (Vice-Rector for Research at Masaryk University), Luděk Matyska (Chair of the Steering Committee of the IPs EOSC-CZ project and Principal Investigator of the NRP project for research data), and Jan Hrušák (Vice-Chair of the EOSC SB Governing Board and member of the ESFRI Executive Board), who emphasized the fundamental role of research data and infrastructures in the advancement of science.

In the thematic section "Advancing Data Science and Infrastructures: EOSC Perspectives and Innovation," keynote speeches highlighted important advancements. Jana Klánová (RECETOX) discussed the infrastructure for researching the human exposome, while Jan Hajič (UFAL Charles University) focused on open access and large language models in Europe. This was followed by a panel discussion, "Shaping the Future of EOSC," led by Jan Hrušák, where experts addressed specific issues related to funding, governance, and the integration of national data nodes across various national and European structures. Contributors from the Czech Republic, the European Commission, and CERN emphasized the importance of long-term stability and the need for effective mechanisms to connect research teams and infrastructures across the EU. Participants agreed that the impact of EOSC activities will largely depend on their ability to facilitate interdisciplinary data accessibility and knowledge exchange.

The second day of the conference was primarily dedicated to AI applications and data management in science. Presentations by Vladimír Petrík on ELLIOT, European open multimodal foundation models, and Markus Koskela from LUMI AI Factory showcased the latest developments in AI infrastructure. Subsequent talks outlined specific solutions in areas such as AI-driven design of new materials (Jan Kočí), digital pathology (Tomáš Brázdil), data generation for drug development using quantum mechanics (Saltuk Eyrilmez), and the management and reuse of data in bioimage analysis (MIFA project, Vladimír Ulman). Practical workshops provided participants with hands-on experience using FAIR data tools and discussed the need for robust repositories and computational infrastructure to ensure research reproducibility.

The conference provided a comprehensive overview of the latest trends in European scientific data management and advanced the discussion on leveraging such data to support high-quality and reproducible research in the era of artificial intelligence. The concluding remarks emphasized the active involvement of the Czech Republic in the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and open science initiatives, underscoring the necessity for technical collaboration across borders. Conference materials and recordings are available on the event's website.

 

 

Research Data Day & EOSC National Tripartite Event: Advancing Open Science and AI-Ready Data Across Europe