Bridging Disciplines: Advancing Research Data Management for Collaborative Innovation

Bridging Disciplines

Bucharest, Romania

The international conference “Bridging Disciplines” takes place on 20 and 21 March at the InterContinental AthĂ©NĂ©E Palace Hotel, in Bucharest.

The objective of the conference is to bring together thought leaders from multiple domains, to discuss the role of metadata, data stewardship, and cross-domain integration for the improvement of data management, sharing and re-use.

Christos Arvanitidis, LifeWatch ERIC’s CEO and Research Director at the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology, and Aquaculture (IMBBC) of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), chairs the session on Life Sciences, on 20 March at 15:45.

The session focusses on collaborative interfaces between Scientific Domains and Disciplines: it explores data interoperability in the life sciences and environmental research, highlighting strategies for integrating diverse datasets to address global challenges.

UEFISCDI organised the conference, funded under the EEA and Norway Grants and co-organised by the Romanian Social Data Archive, with the partnership of LifeWatch ERIC and several other Research Infrastructures.

For more information visit: https://bridge.uefiscdi.ro/

Biodiversity Digital Twins and the Destination Earth Ecosystem

Rome, Italy

The BioDT Project is reaching the end of its mandate and is organising, in collaboration with Destination Earth (DestinE), its final event taking place in Rome on 3 April 2025.

The event, available also for online participation, will highlight BioDT’s key results relevant for the European Commission’s Digital Twin strategy and its integration with the DestinE ecosystem.

Sustainability, interoperability, and the potential adoption of BioDT’s results by European Research Infrastructures and data spaces will be the key topics to drive discussions, scientific presentations and panel debates. Moreover, participants will assist to live demonstrations of prototype Digital Twins (pDTs) developed during the project.

For the agenda, registration, and further details, visit:

https://biodt.eu/events/biodiversity-digital-twins-and-destination-earth-ecosystem

PATH2DEA Webinar series on digital tools for sustainable farming

PATH2DEA Webinar

Online

The PATH2DEA project aims to enhance the potential of agroecological farming systems, by supporting the adoption of digital tools and technologies. Farmers’ competence and views, matched with the rich repertoire of digital solutions already available in agriculture, can help tailor technologies to the end users’ needs.

The project involves multiple actors, including early adopters of digital agroecological farming, represented by six Showcase farms located in different pedo-climatic regions to validate the project’s conclusions.

As part of its ongoing activities, PATH2DEA has also established a Digital Agroecology Cluster and is now organising a webinar series with two key projects within the Cluster: D4AgEcol and REFOREST. This series consists of two webinars focused on the role of digitalisation in sustainable agricultural practices, and in particular agroecology and agroforestry.

The first appointment, on 18 March, will present tools currently available on the market for sustainable agriculture, and their practical applications. The second one, scheduled on 15 April, will dive into farmers’ perceptions of the tools, and barriers to adoption.

Visit this page for the detailed agenda and registration: https://www.path2dea.eu/agroecology-cluster/webinar-series.html

BioDT Webinar on digital modelling for nature protection

BioDT Webinar

Online

The Biodiversity Digital Twin (BioDT) project offers advanced simulation and prediction models to tackle critical global biodiversity challenges, addressing complex biodiversity dynamics through practical use cases. LifeWatch ERIC is part of this impressive consortium of 22 partners, all working together to drive evidence-based solutions for biodiversity protection and restoration across Europe.

On 27 February, the project members will host a webinar dedicated to the role of Digital Twins in environmental protection: experts from leading Digital Twins initiatives will gather together to discuss how technologies such as real-time monitoring and advanced simulations can be leveraged to support environmental protection and disaster response. Moreover, a cross-collaboration between these digital tools will enhance their impact, and this is the main aspect the webinar is focused on, with examples of practical applications for research institutes, environmental agencies and emergency responders.

The one-hour webinar will feature speakers from InterTwin, DT-GEO, TerraDT, ClimateDT and DestinE, and a round of interactive discussions.

Agenda and registration here: https://biodt.eu/events/biodt-webinar-how-can-cross-use-digital-modelling-tools-help-nature-protection

BEeS 2025: LifeWatch ERIC Annual Conference

Heraklion, Greece

The BEeS (Biodiversity and Ecosystem eScience) Conference 2025 will gather researchers, policymakers, and experts to tackle the Triple Planetary Crisis (climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution) through eScience and European Research Infrastructures (RIs).
This year’s conference will explore synergies between LifeWatch ERIC services and emerging technologies to drive innovation for a sustainable future. The program features plenary sessions, thematic services, research presentations, and hands-on demonstrations, highlighting the crucial role of technology, data, and collaboration in
addressing global environmental challenges.
Participants will engage in discussions on biological diversity and conservation, ecological responses to climate change, biogeography, taxonomy, biodiversity monitoring, and habitat mapping. The event will also include interactive booth activities, poster presentations, and training sessions, offering insights into Virtual Research
Environments (VREs), Virtual Laboratories (vLabs), and other digital tools.
The conference welcomes researchers in biodiversity, ecosystems, and eScience, with a special focus on early-career scientists, including PhD and Master’s students. The BEeS 2025 Conference will be hosted by the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology, and Aquaculture (IMBBC), in
Heraklion, Greece, from June 30 to July 3, 2025.

For more information visit: https://www.lifewatch.eu/bees-2025/

LifeWatch Italy Conference 2025

LifeWatch Italy conference

Rome, Italy

Held in the seat of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR), the LifeWatch Italy annual conference will take place in Rome on 29 and 30 January 2025: an important gathering where researchers can learn about the state-of-the-art in research and technological innovation on biodiversity and ecosystems.

The conference features sessions dedicated to the future strategy of the LifeWatch Italy research infrastructure, and interactive discussions to promote synergies with other research infrastructures and relevant projects at the national level.

More information on LifeWatch Italy website: https://www.lifewatchitaly.eu/conferenza-lifewatch-italia-2025/

The European Data Conference on Reference Data and Semantics

ENDORSE 2025

Brussels, Belgium

ENDORSE 2025 is the third edition of the European Data Conference on Reference Data and Semantics, taking place in Brussels on 8 and 9 October. The conference brings together experts, researchers and professionals, acting as a platform for sharing knowledge, experience and best practices on the management of interoperable reference data and semantic technologies.

The Publication Office of the European Union and Interoperable Europe, as organisers of the event supported by the Digital Europe Programme, have opened the possibility to participants to share their insights and research on reference data, semantic technologies and artificial intelligence.

Proposals are accepted by 29 January 2025, on four different topics aimed at “Transforming Data into Action across Borders”.

For details on the event and call for proposals, please visit: https://op.europa.eu/it/web/endorse

LifeWatch Flanders advisory board & open session on Corporate Biodiversity Reporting

corporate biodiversity reporting

As part of the LifeWatch Flanders advisory board, LifeWatch Belgium organises a session around Corporate Biodiversity Reporting.

The event explores private companies’ relationship with biodiversity data, tackling some of the difficulties these realities face, such as understanding what data is available, what requirements research infrastructures should take into account for this stakeholder, and possible bottlenecks in the use of such data.

The session aims at bridging these gaps and offers an overview of potential tools and services that biodiversity infrastructures, governmental institutes and NGOs can provide.

More information available on the LifeWatch Belgium website: https://www.lifewatch.be/event/lifewatch-flanders-advisory-board-open-session-corporate-biodiversity-reporting

ANERIS Second Annual Meeting

ANERIS Second Annual Meeting

Seville, Spain

In occasion of the ANERIS Second Annual Meeting, the project consortium is meeting in Seville, Spain, hosted at LifeWatch ERIC’s premises in Plaza de España to evaluate the project progress, discuss the next steps and align on the ongoing activities.

ANERIS (https://www.lifewatch.eu/ANERIS) stands for “operAtional seNsing lifE technologies for maRIne ecosystemS”, and proposes a co-design framework to develop the next generation of scientific instrumentation tools and methods for sensing marine-life (with the approach of Operational Marine Biology (OMB).

These results can benefit academia, industry, civil society and government; moreover, the consortium will develop a training program for the operation and use of these solutions, in particularly within the research infrastructures staff.

If you want to learn more about ANERIS developments, the project is also organising a workshop, split in two sessions, on “Underwater imaging, Bio-Optics, and Participatory technologies”, on 2nd and 4th December 2024.

This event is open to all researchers, technology developers, users, citizens and stakeholders from the broader scientific and technical community interested in advancing the field of marine science.

You can find more information here: https://www.lifewatch.eu/events/aneris-workshop-on-bioimaging or on the ANERIS website: https://aneris.eu

European Mission Soil Week 2024

european mission soil week

Brussels, Belgium

LifeWatch ERIC is proud to announce its participation in the European Mission Soil Week 2024, taking place from 12 to 13 November 2024, in Brussels.

This annual event aims at promoting the Horizon Europe Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe‘ (Mission Soil) raising awareness about the crucial importance of a healthy soil for our entire future, and driving action to protect and restore our soils.

Last year, the event took place in Madrid, Spain, with over 900 participants including researchers, policymakers, land managers, and the general public.

This second edition of the Mission Soil Week will provide a platform for research and innovation on soil health, to present and discuss efforts that contribute to the Mission Soil’s objectives:

  • Generating new knowledge
  • Harmonising soil monitoring
  • Co-designing innovations and test solutions on the ground
  • Increasing societal awareness and engagement
  • Supporting the green transition in more general terms

This year, LifeWatch ERIC members will attend representing our Agroecology team, and the Horizon Europe projects SUS-SOIL and AGROECOLOGY Partnership. Xavier Rottllan-Puig (Data Management Specialist) and José Manuel Ávila (Agroecology Coordinator) will bring expertise in soil research and agroecology sustainability to this key event.

A specific side-event for Mission Soil-funded projects will include cluster meetings focused on data and knowledge management, soil indicators and monitoring, as well as communication and stakeholder engagement.

Further details about the European Mission Soil Week 2024 can be found here: https://www.europeanmissionsoilweek2024.eu/en