The Swiss research data landscape: challenges and opportunities
There has been a data deluge in the research sector in recent years, accompanied by an increasing tendency to allow the scientific community access to original research data and the procedures used in order to enable study results to be fully reproduced. This increasingly complex research data landscape presents new challenges, but also new opportunities. A good understanding of pre-conditions of sharing data, of the life cycle, and of the patterns of creation, curation, use and re-use of research data are required. The management of research data is far from a straightforward issue, and clear strategies are required in order to ensure that data remain accessible and understandable over time. Furthermore, funding bodies, including the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), are reacting to this changing landscape, with research data management plans now a key requirement for funding rather than an optional extra.
In addition, recent Data Science approaches are combining data from different sources to obtain novel findings. Society as a whole is also becoming increasingly involved in the scientific learning process through initiatives such as citizen science, whereby the general public can contribute data to the research process and draw their own conclusions. In the Swiss Research Data Day 2018, established experts across different domains will share best practices around handling, managing, and sharing research data.
Confirmed speakers include:
| Full name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Alex Upton | Community Project Manager, Scientific IT Services, ETH Zurich |
| Ana Sesartic | ETH Zurich |
| André Hoffmann | UZH |
| Aude Dieudé | EPFL |
| Basma Makhlouf Shabou | Professor of Information Sciences at Information Science Department, Geneva School of Business Administration, HES-SO |
| Christine Pirinoli | Vice-Rector Research & Innovation, HES-SO |
| Donat Agosti | Founding President of Plazi GmbH |
| Ernst Hafen | Professor of Systems Genetics at ETH Zurich and president of MIDATA.coop |
| Genevieve Joullie Dardier | Research Data Specialist, HES SO |
| Hugues Cazeaux | Head of e-Research, UNIGE |
| Jeff Muller | EPFL Campus Biotech |
| Kilian Stoffel | Rector of the University of Neuchâtel and President of the Steering Committee of swissuniversities' Program "Scientific information" - P-5 |
| Leila T. Alexander | Chief Operating Officer, SPHN Data Coordination Centre |
| Marjan Grootveld | Senior policy officer at DANS |
| Pierre-Yves Burgi | DLCM project Director and Deputy CIO, UNIGE |
| Rok Roškar | Data Scientist / Software Engineer, Swiss Data Science Center |
| Sarah Kenderdine | Professor of Digital Museology at EPFL |
| Sergio Maffioletti | EnhanceR project Director |
| Tim Smith | CERN |
| Torsten Schwede | SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics & University of Basel |
Programme
The presentation slides and video recordings of the sessions are available here!
Download the full programme in PDF format
09:00-10:00
Arrival and registration
10:00-10:15
Welcome and introduction
By Prof. Dr. Ulrich Weidmann, Vice President Personnel and Resources, ETH Zurich
10:15-11:00
Opening keynote
Shared Infrastructures for Open Science, by Prof. Kilian Stoffel, Rector of the University of Neuchâtel and President of the Steering Committee of swissuniversities' Program "Scientific information" - P-5
DLCM project overview, by Dr. Pierre-Yves Burgi, DLCM project Director and Deputy CIO, UNIGE
Short break
11:15-12:00
Break-out sessions
Data Management Plan (DMP): From Theory to Practice - DMP Templates, Best Practices & Guidelines
Room AudiMax
EnhanceR and DLCM – Solving Data Challenges for Swiss Researchers
Room D1.2
Hands-on workshop: Creating cross-linked deposits in the Zenodo repository of CERN
Room D7.1
Using Patient Data in Health Research: Challenges and Opportunities
Room D7.2
The Human Brain Project Open Neurodata Ecosystem
Room D1.1
Lunch and poster session
13:15-14:45
Presentations
But can I trust your data?, by Dr. Marjan Grootveld, Senior policy officer at DANS
Cultural data sculpting in public and research domains, by Prof. Sarah Kenderdine, Professor of Digital Museology at EPFL
From liberating imprisoned data in publications to publishing linked open data, by Dr. Donat Agosti, Founding President of Plazi GmbH
14:45-15:30
Break-out sessions
Data Management Plan (DMP): From Theory to Practice - DMP Templates, Best Practices & Guidelines
Room D1.1
EnhanceR and DLCM – Solving Data Challenges for Swiss Researchers
Room D1.2
Hands-on workshop: Creating cross-linked deposits in the Zenodo repository of CERN
Room D7.1
Using Patient Data in Health Research: Challenges and Opportunities
Room D7.2
A multidimensional approach to Open Science practices: illustrative examples from Swiss universities
Room AudiMax
Coffee break
16:00-17:00
Presentations
Data to the People - The Power of Citizen Science in Healthcare, by Prof. Ernst Hafen, Professor of Systems Genetics at ETH Zurich and president of MIDATA.coop
Opening Science in a Data-Driven World, by Dr. Rok Roškar, Data Scientist / Software Engineer, Swiss Data Science Center
17:00-17:15
Summary and conclusion
Detailed Programme
