In September 2025, Brno hosted the official kick-off of the EOSC United and EOSC Gravity projects. The joint launch brought together representatives of European institutions and national initiatives focused on research data and open science. Among the participants were Bob Jones, the project coordinator, and Luděk Matyska from the EOSC CZ Initiative, whom we asked about the EOSC United project's direction and the EOSC Federation's future.
The EOSC United project is a Coordination and Support Action aimed at further developing and strengthening the EOSC Federation — a connected system of data and computing nodes that enables secure and efficient sharing of FAIR research data across Europe. “EOSC United will focus on expanding the Federation in terms of the participation of the EOSC EU Node and in the scope and diversity of contributions from individual partners. This expansion will be crucial to make the EOSC Federation attractive to researchers and to deliver tangible benefits to their daily work,” explains project coordinator Bob Jones.
The main goal is to ensure that the EOSC Federation becomes a fully functional platform for research, development, and international data sharing, not merely a technological vision. According to Professor Luděk Matyska from Masaryk University, the EOSC EU Node currently serves as the central connection point of the Federation. EOSC United aims to define its future evolution in a way that both reflects and influences new operational and governance frameworks shaping the entire EOSC ecosystem. “We are pleased to be part of this effort, as it allows us — as representatives of the Czech approach to EOSC implementation — to actively contribute to its evolution and ensure that our national activities remain aligned with the future direction of EOSC,” says Matyska.
An essential part of the project will be the development of common legal, technical, and organisational frameworks that enable the different parts of the Federation to work seamlessly across borders.“We expect increased use of the European Node and the federation as a whole, along with the gradual maturity of services offered to end users. EOSC United will create opportunities for more organisations across Europe to join the federation and strengthen the application of FAIR principles. The key technical challenge will be assembling a set of interoperable technologies that node hosts and service providers can deploy,” adds Jones.
EOSC United closely cooperates with its sister project, EOSC Gravity, which shares a similar goal and timeframe. Together, they focus on strengthening the user base, engaging communities, and building operational frameworks for EOSC beyond 2027. “EOSC Gravity and EOSC United are support actions led by the EOSC Association. Both aim to advance the development of the EOSC Federation — technically, legally, and organisationally — wherever they can benefit from interlinked activities,” explains Jones.
According to Bob Jones, EOSC United brings both technical and political challenges, but also a crucial opportunity to deepen European collaboration: “At the organisational and political level, it will be necessary to find a sustainable model of governance and funding that can be supported under the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework. Based on the enthusiasm shown by the community during the first phase of the EOSC Federation’s development, I am confident that EOSC has a bright and united future.”
The Czech Republic participates in EOSC United through Masaryk University (Institute of Computer Science / ICS MU), one of the project’s consortium members. This participation allows the Czech academic and research community to actively influence the creation of European standards and ensure that proposed solutions meet national needs. “This involvement gives us direct insight into how the federation’s key components will evolve and allows us to help define interoperability mechanisms for collaboration between nodes. At the same time, we can translate the results of European discussions into concrete steps for the Czech implementation,” states Matyska.
Participation in EOSC United further strengthens Masaryk University’s strategic role as the coordinator of Czech EOSC implementation. “This project will allow us to gain a deeper understanding of the future development of key elements of the EOSC Federation and provide a platform to share our national experience in organising and managing EOSC implementation. At the same time, it enhances the university’s visibility and reputation within the European EOSC community and makes it more attractive to experts and professionals.” Matyska adds.
The EOSC CZ Secretariat coordinates national participation and connects Czech institutions with European partners involved in EOSC United. “Overall, participation in the project helps strengthen the expertise and capacity of the team, raising the quality of its work. The broader involvement of Czech stakeholders in developing the EOSC Federation ensures that the Czech voice is heard in the European discussion,” concludes Matyska.
According to Luděk Matyska, major technical obstacles are not expected: “The biggest challenge will be the federation’s governance model, as it will determine how the EU Node evolves, operates, and what national actors can expect. Since the EOSC Federation is still in its early stages, adding new nodes will naturally bring changes that must be reflected in both the project and national planning. Another key challenge remains ensuring sustainable funding for the future federation. However, we expect EOSC United to help make a strong case for its value to Member States and research communities.”
is a senior scientific staff member at CERN and serves as Special Envoy for the EOSC Federation. He has extensive experience managing international projects in research infrastructures and cloud technologies. He led the Helix Nebula Science Cloud Pre-Commercial Procurement project, which delivered innovative cloud services for the European research community and significantly contributed to the development of EOSC. At CERN, he also serves as Deputy Head of the IT Department, focusing on integrating computing infrastructures for science, open collaboration, and support for European research data initiatives.
is a member of the EOSC Steering Committee and a Masaryk University professor specialising in computing and research infrastructures. Trained in physics, he has built a distinguished career in developing national and international e-infrastructures supporting scientific research. Within the EOSC Steering Committee, he coordinates activities to advance and integrate European cloud services for research, contributing to the growth of research data initiatives and open science.
In early October, another EOSC CZ Networking meeting took place in Ostrava, where we spoke with Professor Jan Platoš, the new Vice-Rector for Science, Research and Doctoral Studies at VSB – Technical University of Ostrava. In the interview, he explains why proper data management is key to quality research and how the university supports the development of data stewards and open science.
At the international meeting TEHDAS2 – Health Data Policy into Practice, held on 9 October 2025, Zdenka Dudová, lead of the Sensitive Data working group within the EOSC CZ initiative, represented the Czech community. She is involved in preparing methodological guidelines and technical specifications for the implementation of the European Health Data Space (EHDS).
