Source: RDM Team RWTH Aachen University
And it’s already done: Research Data Day (TdF) in North Rhine-Westphalia 2025 is one of the biggest events in the field of research data management (RDM) and takes place once a year. This year, the RDM action day took place on November 18, 2025, under the motto “FAIR Data – FAIR Play: It’s All a Question of Lineup.” Once again, RWTH Aachen University and Forschungszentrum Jülich organized a joint information and networking event, which this time took place on the premises of the IT Center. Read our article to find out what impressions we gained from the day.
On Your Marks, FAIR, Go!
The participants of the TdF gathered punctually at 9am at this year’s venue on Kopernikusstraße in Aachen. After registering and preparing the poster walls for the afternoon program, the participants were welcomed by the organizing team.
This was followed by the official online broadcast of the NFDI panel discussion by fdm.nrw with Dr. Lioba Schreyer. She welcomed everyone who had joined the broadcast and, with a few camera pans, impressively showed how many participants were already there in the morning and had gathered for the broadcast, including the RDM community from Jülich and Aachen.
With an impressive number of over 40 participants, the panel discussion was listened to, which was conducted alternately with three representatives of the NFDI. For example, Prof. Sonja Herres-Pawlis, co-spokesperson for NFDI4Chem, explained what is important to consider in the early stages of RDM, such as the importance of a good trainer in Collaborative Research Centers. Dr. Thomas Zobel and Dr. Sandra Zänkert participated in the panel discussion, providing interesting answers. For example, they mentioned that interacting with students is crucial for raising awareness and emphasizing the benefits of RDM at an early stage.
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- Source: RDM Team RWTH Aachen University
Game-Changing Initiatives in RDM in the Afternoon
After refreshments and brief conversations during the lunch break, the official afternoon program continued. Dr. Dominik Schmitz, Head of Department at the RWTH University Library, and Dr. Bernhard Mittermeier, Head of the FZJ Central Library, warmly welcomed those attending the afternoon program and shared brief anecdotes from their early days with RDM. Florian Claus, RDM Coordinator at RWTH, also welcomed the 77 participants and thanked this year’s organizing team.
The afternoon program offered participants a variety of exciting options. In the “RDM Practice Arena,” there were numerous poster presentations and demonstrations on RDM community implementations, as well as two breakout sessions: “RDM with FAIRmat and NOMAD” and “Advancing Structured RDM in Eng. Institutes.” At the “RDM Services” arena, participants could discuss RDM offerings from the NFDI, meet the service teams, and ask questions about tools, infrastructures, and support services. In keeping with the sports theme, the Coscine team was also there and attracted participants to the “RDM playing field” with a round of table soccer.
The Jülich-Aachen afternoon program came to an end in the early afternoon. The organizing team thanked the participants for the constructive scientific exchange and also praised the initiators of the lectures and poster presentations, as well as everyone else for the inspiring insights into their services. The RDM teams from Jülich and Aachen are already looking forward to the 6th Research Data Day in November 2026!
Responsible for the content of this article is Lina-Louise Kaulbach.
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