Source: Own illustration
On April 22, 2026, the Coscine Support Summit took place at the IT Center of RWTH Aachen University. Around 15 participants from seven different universities came together to engage in an in-depth exchange on key support processes and to collaborate on their further development. The focus was particularly on the application for and review of storage resources.
Discussions and Current Developments Regarding Coscine
Source: Own illustration
The summit began with a brief round of introductions, which not only served as an opportunity for participants to get to know one another but also highlighted the diversity of perspectives represented. Different institutional frameworks and experiences in support led directly to a lively exchange. Following this, the Coscine Service Management Team presented current developments regarding storage space request processes. It became clear that numerous adjustments had already been implemented in recent months, particularly based on valuable feedback from first-level support. This practical feedback has significantly contributed to optimizing existing workflows and making them more user-friendly.
Challenges and Solutions
In addition to the progress made, existing challenges were also openly addressed. A central topic was the review process for storage requests. On the one hand, the process currently requires a significant organizational workload for the Coscine Service Management Team. In the first three months of 2026 alone, an average of approximately 19 requests per month were submitted that required assignment to reviewers. On the other hand, the 1st-level support team would like clearer guidelines for application submission and review.
To address these challenges together, the participants worked in small groups for the remainder of the day on two key areas for process improvement: metadata profiles and their structuring in Coscine, as well as the questions included in the storage space application. Concrete ideas and measures were developed during intensive working sessions.
Results and Next Steps
The results of the group work were then presented in a plenary session and discussed collectively. It became clear that open exchange between universities offers great potential for learning from one another and jointly developing viable solutions.
The suggestions for improvement regarding metadata profiles included, among other things, a standardized naming convention for submitted metadata profiles with the highest possible recognition value. In addition, a new structure for the existing metadata profiles appears sensible. These two core aspects will be further investigated within the framework of the currently ongoing TS4NFDI Incubator.
The improvements to the review process focus on rephrasing and shortening the questions in the storage space application. Many good suggestions were collected here, which will be reviewed internally by the Coscine Service Management Team and subsequently implemented. The long-term goal includes improving the application and review process with a view to potential time savings while maintaining or enhancing the quality of storage space applications.
Two of the Coscine developers were also on-site throughout the event. This allowed participants to clarify technical questions at any time and engage in direct dialogue.
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- Sources: Own illustrations
Conclusion
The day concluded with a look ahead at upcoming developments for the Coscine platform. It became clear that exciting new features continue to await Coscine users in the coming months.
The team is very pleased that the Coscine Support Summit has been so well received by first-level support and that it is possible to work together on process improvements!
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- Source: Own illustration
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- Source: Own illustration
Learn More
Would you like to receive regular updates about Coscine? Then visit the Coscine website and subscribe to the Coscine newsletter to stay up to date once a month.
If you have any questions about Coscine or research data management, the RDM team at RWTH Aachen University is happy to help.
Responsible for the content of this article are Katja Jansen and Arlinda Ujkani.
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