Galaxy and DataPLANT at EOSCxNFDI event in Berlin

Mon Oct 28 2024

The EOSCxNFDI event was putting a spotlight on exploring how EOSC and NFDI can jointly create added value for achieving an effective international research data management. It was part of the EOSC Symposium in October 2024 in Berlin discussing the EOSC Impact and Opportunities on the Infrastructure landscape. Several NFDI consortia and the Base4NFDI initiative were present, for DataPLANT Björn Grüning from the Galaxy Team Freiburg participated in the event. Several exchanges in various formats focused on the intersection of the NFDI and EOSC thematic communities.

The discussions included a panel titled “Three Perspectives, One Goal - Making Research Data FAIR at European, National, and Regional Levels,” which explored collaborative approaches to implementing FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data principles across different scales. Further, a World Café session was held, covering key topics such as: Infrastructure and Basic Services, Health, Artificial Intelligence, ERICs as EOSC Thematic Nodes (Connecting to NFDI Consortia?), Education and Training, Metadata, FAIR Metrics, Governance and Industry Engagement. These discussions fostered valuable insights into building robust connections between EOSC and NFDI, emphasizing the alignment of goals and the promotion of FAIR principles across diverse sectors.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research envisions the future of the National Research Data Infrastructure within the context of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). Currently, only a few universities are members of the EOSC Association. However, universities that are part of the NFDI contribute to EOSC, positioning NFDI as an official partner. This gives the NFDI a strong chance to be included among the first seven EOSC nodes at the start of next year. The initial EOSC node, the EOSC-EU Node, has already been officially launched. This node is a mix of OpenStack and Nextcloud, sharing some similarities with the de.NBI Cloud, which supports the Galaxy and DataPLANT cloud infrastructure.

In the future, EOSC and NFDI plan to work more closely, not only on infrastructure but also in areas like training and r esearch data management. Galaxy and the Galaxy Training Network are already established as infrastructure components, with ongoing discussions on whether Galaxy might integrate into EOSC nodes or become a dedicated node itself. Galaxy is also part of the NFDI through its integration in DataPLANT. It’s expected that de.NBI, ELIXIR, and the European Grid Initiative will submit a node application, and ELIXIR will likely partner with EMBL to create another node. With their cloud-enabled services, DataPLANT and its participating universities are well-positioned to take an active role in the nodes and establish some valuable standards.

Galaxy and DataPLANT are already indirectly shaping decisions through their involvement in “opportunity areas” and by participating in larger technical discussions. In the medium term, DataPLANT and the universities involved face the question of whether to join the EOSC Association officially. This step would require time and careful coordination with de.NBI and NFDI activities. If universities seek greater international recognition in RDM and infrastructure, membership could be beneficial—provided that adequate time is allocated within institutions and consortia to engage effectively.