On Wednesday, 9 October 2025, the international meeting TEHDAS2 – Health Data Policy into Practice was held in connection with Denmark’s Presidency of the EU Council. The event aligned with the ongoing European initiative focused on implementing the European Health Data Space (EHDS) regulation into national legislation. At the meeting, the latest outputs and direction of the TEHDAS2 project were presented — a project that aims to harmonize rules for sharing and using health data across Europe. The Institute of Computer Science at Masaryk University was represented at the meeting by Zdenka Dudová, who also leads the Sensitive Data Working Group within the EOSC CZ initiative. She is involved in the development of methodological guidelines and technical specifications, which will form part of the implementation documents for the European Health Data Space (EHDS).
The discussions centered primarily on implementing the EHDS regulation to establish a common framework for safe and ethical use of health data across the EU.
According to Dorte Bech Vizard from the Danish Ministry of Health, EHDS “presents a unique opportunity to rethink the sustainability of European healthcare systems and accelerate the transfer of innovations into practice.” Denmark’s Life Science strategy emphasizes that data can become a driving force of innovation — provided that handling of sensitive information is transparent and secure. This message was echoed by Marco Marsella, Director of Digital and Health Systems Modernisation at the European Commission (DG SANTE): “Our goal is to build capacity across all 27 Member States. EHDS enables the shift from reactive to proactive, data-driven care, and Europe thus has the opportunity to become a global model for responsible use of health data.”
The project team, including Petr Holub and Zdenka Dudová, contributes Czech expertise in managing sensitive data, including Secure Processing Environments (SPEs), which underpin the national SensitiveCloud infrastructure developed under e-INFRA CZ. Petr Holub, Co-chair of the Health Data Task Force of the EOSC Association, co-authored a methodological guideline on data minimization, pseudonymization, anonymization, and synthetic data. Zdenka Dudová co-authors a technical specification proposal for a common IT infrastructure for Health Data Access Bodies (HDAB). Both documents are now open for public consultation through the end of November 2025.
Involvement of Masaryk University ensures that Czech practice and insights in handling sensitive data are reflected in the development of European standards. It also strengthens the university’s leadership in research infrastructure and digital health. Thanks to the participation of Czech experts from Masaryk University and the Czech Ministry of Health, the Czech Republic has direct influence on shaping rules that will govern the future of health data use in Europe. Participation in TEHDAS2 enables knowledge sharing and practical application of TEHDAS2 results in national solutions for managing sensitive data.
About TEHDAS2
The TEHDAS2 (Second Joint Action Towards the European Health Data Space) project brings together 66 organizations from 29 European countries. Its goal is to prepare unified guidelines and technical specifications to help Member States and the European Commission implement rules for secondary use of health data — for example, scientific research, education, or health policy making. The outcome will be documents that facilitate safe access to health data, improve European system interoperability, and establish collaboration processes between healthcare institutions, researchers, and public authorities. Thus, TEHDAS2 represents a pivotal step toward making Europe a region where data supports better patient care, drives research, and strengthens public trust in modern healthcare.
On 7 October 2025, the EOSC CZ initiative organised a regional networking meeting at the VSB – Technical University of Ostrava (VSB-TUO), bringing together representatives from three Silesian universities – the Silesian University in Opava (SU), the University of Ostrava (OU), and VSB-TUO.
On Thursday, 25 September 2025, nearly 80 experts in research data management – data stewards – gathered at the National Technical Library in Prague. The event, co-organised by the EOSC CZ initiative, provided a space for sharing experiences, networking, exchanging best practices, and hearing inspiring presentations from colleagues from Poland and Germany.
