Europe Signs the EOSC Federation Memorandum
The opening day of the Symposium was marked by the official presentation of the first wave of EOSC Federation Nodes, which signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the EOSC Association. This symbolic act marked the beginning of a new era for the Federation — a shared infrastructure connecting European research organizations, data spaces, and services. “The signing of the memorandum represents more than a formal step; it demonstrates that shared responsibility and collaboration across Europe truly work,” said Klaus Tochtermann, President of the EOSC Association.
A Federation Connecting People and Technology
The discussions on the second day focused on the future development of the EOSC Federation — how to interconnect national nodes, align technical and organisational frameworks, and strengthen the growing community. The EOSC Tripartite Governance also announced a new call for the second wave of EOSC Federation Nodes and the EOSC Gravity project, designed to support their growth. A highlight of the day was the keynote by Enrica Porcari (CERN), who reminded participants that “sharing knowledge is not a luxury, but a necessity. The true power of science lies in collaboration, not isolation.”
Open Science as the Foundation of Research Trust
The final day of the Symposium focused on skills development, FAIR data, and artificial intelligence. Shelley Stall from the American Geophysical Union delivered a keynote on global collaboration in research data resilience, emphasising that “failure to manage research data effectively amounts to suppressing science itself.”
Subsequent panels explored digital sovereignty, engagement of innovators and startups, and the training of a new generation of data stewards and researchers equipped to thrive in an open and collaborative scientific environment.
The Czech Contribution to the European Federation
Among hundreds of participants from across Europe, the Czech Republic was well represented. Luděk Matyska joined the EOSC Federation Policies session with a talk on Governance of the EOSC Interoperability Framework. Jan Hrušák chaired the session „Digitalisation of the Research Ecosystem in Europe“ and moderated the following panel on infrastructures for the digital transformation of research, highlighting the key role of EOSC in building a trusted, secure, and sovereign environment for high-quality FAIR research data, thereby supporting scientific excellence and innovation in Europe. Other Czech speakers included Jan Kuchyňka (National Library of Technology) and Jakub Jirka (Codevence Solutions).
The BioMedAI project, led by Petr Holub from the Institute of Computer Science at Masaryk University, presented its multi-centric validation of a prostate cancer screening model, recognized as one of the official Scientific Use Cases from the First Wave of EOSC Candidate Nodes, conducted in collaboration with BBMRI-ERIC and the ICSC Node. In a short interview, Petr Holub explains how the BBMRI-ERIC EOSC Node connects biobanks and biomolecular resources across Europe and supports data sharing and use in line with FAIR and GDPR principles. Watch the interview.
