This year’s NFDI-MatWerk Summer School took place from September 10 to 12, 2024 at the Leibniz-Institut für Werkstofforientierte Technologien (IWT) in Bremen. The offer was met with great interest. Katharina Grünwald from the RDM team at RWTH Aachen University also attended the Summer School. We have summarised our impressions in this report.
Background
The National Research Data Infrastructure for Materials Science and Engineering (NFDI-MatWerk) aims to develop technical solutions for the consistent standardization of research data. The central challenge in materials science is the digital representation of materials and their relevant process and stress parameters.
In the age of digital infrastructures, these aspects are of outstanding importance for shaping the future of research, as they lead to increased efficiency and synergies between researchers and well-designed IT systems.
In addition, NFDI-MatWerk aims to communicate the importance of and knowledge about Research Data Management (RDM) to the research community. The summer school is one element of this and provides information and solutions for handling research data in the field of MSE (Material Science and Engineering).
Who Is the Program For?
The NFDI-MatWerk Summer and Spring Schools are aimed at PhD students and post-docs working in the field of experimental and/or modeling or simulation techniques in all areas of materials science and engineering. Advanced Master students are also welcome to apply for one of the coveted places. No prior knowledge of RDM is required.
Topics and Schedule
On the evening of September 9, 2024, there was an opportunity to meet and get to know each other. The actual program started on the morning of September 10, 2024, with a Python basics course for effective RDM.
This was followed by a low-threshold introduction to RDM and instructions for a data management plan (DMP). These two sessions were a contribution from RWTH via one of our data stewards. This was followed by an introduction to the world of electronic lab notebooks, which are the lynchpin in the digitization process of laboratories.
In the evening, the participants were invited to a sightseeing tour through the beautiful city of Bremen. This was followed by a hearty dinner at Bremen’s historic Ratskeller, where everyone enjoyed the evening together.
On the second day, the program continued with a general overview of the topic of metadata and how best to deal with it in everyday research. This was followed by a practical workshop using the MatWerk tool “Metadata Editor” to demonstrate how the consortium’s solutions can be actively integrated into one’s own work.
The last day included an introduction to the importance of ontologies in RDM, an educational insight into cultural-medial change, and tips and hints on how to make change management work well in one’s own team. The participants received a comprehensive package on RDM with many new, exciting and helpful insights.
Outlook: Spring School 2025 at RWTH!
Great news: The next NFDI-MatWerk Spring School will take place at RWTH Aachen University in April 2025. We will keep you informed here on the RDM Blog and on our social media channels about everything important, like registration. Stay tuned!
Responsible for the content of this article is Katharina Grünwald.
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