Abstracts

Here we gather the tales of our fellowship: each abstract a valiant contribution to the ever-unfolding quest for knowledge. Work in progress!

Talk by Ilire Hasani-Mavriqi: Fostering Sustainable RDM Ecosystems – Mission Impossible?

Effective lobbying for Research Data Management (RDM) goes beyond advocating for tools and infrastructure. It requires lowering entry barriers for researchers, making user needs visible and translating them into clear strategic concepts for rectorates and policymakers. In this session, approaches to engaging decision-makers, demonstrating impact and strategically channelling scarce resources to strengthen research excellence will be explored. Drawing on experience with institutional and national initiatives and strategic developments, it will be illustrated how transparent, cross-boundary collaboration and the alignment of governance layers can foster sustainable RDM ecosystems. Ultimately, the session will examine how tangible benefits for researchers can influence institutional and political support.

Talk by Barbara Sánchez Solís: Exploring Data Stewardship as a New Career Path

This talk presents insights from a TU Wien pilot initiative bringing together two faculties and the central research data management unit to develop a shared data stewardship framework. Rather than relying on individual roles, the initiative focuses on data steward teams and assembles interdisciplinary expert groups covering diverse data types, workflows, pipelines, services and tools. These teams explore key strategic and organisational questions: How should data steward roles and responsibilities be defined? Should positions be categorised as administrative, scientific or hybrid? What are the implications for career development and institutional recognition? The initiative also examines the balance between subject-specific and faculty-wide stewardship models, contributing to discussions on building resilient, scalable data stewardship ecosystems within research institutions.
 

Interactive keynote with Svitlana Kalitsun

When deadlines loom, data requests pile up, or unexpected challenges arise, it’s easy to fall back on the negotiation style that feels safest or most familiar. But relying on comfort alone doesn’t always get the best results. Exploring your natural style can reveal new approaches—giving you the confidence and flexibility to engage with different stakeholders, influence outcomes, and navigate complex situations more effectively.

Session flow:

• Style Mapping: Participants take a quick self-assessment to identify their natural negotiation style
• Strengths & Blind Spots: We unpack the power and pitfalls of each style, showing how they play out in high stakes.
• Interaction Dynamics: Learn how different styles clash or complement each other, and how to adjust your approach for maximum influence.

Talk by Alex Bardel or Birgit Söser (tbc): Key findings from the Shared RDM Services & Infrastructure project

Shared RDM Services & Infrastructure is a national initiative aimed at developing a sustainable, interoperable, and user-oriented research data management infrastructure for universities in Austria. By bringing institutions together, the project advances cooperative models for core services, including electronic lab notebooks, analytic platforms, repositories and machine-actionable data management plans. To ensure long-term viability, the initiative establishes shared business and operating models for service implementation while strengthening coordinated RDM support across institutions at different levels of maturity. A key focus lies on building shared competences through the continuous professionalisation of data stewardship, combining institutional capacity-building with cross-institutional exchange. This is reinforced through dedicated training formats, including webinars within the established "RDM in Austria” series, ensuring ongoing knowledge transfer beyond the project consortium.

Talk by Pinar Alper: Practical Data Stewardship Across Sectors: Examples from EU Data Space Initiatives

In this session I examine practical methods for delivering data stewardship support to academia and public‑sector bodies acting as data holders within EU Data Space frameworks such as the the DGA. I will also revisit stewardship support needs of data requestors originating from diverse sectors, including academic, public, and private entities. The talk will detail the operational commonalities and sector‑specific requirements encountered when supporting these groups, and describe how coherent, cross‑sector stewardship practices can be designed to accommodate all stakeholders. It will further demonstrate how established research data management (RDM) best practices can be adapted and operationalised in emerging, multi‑sectoral data‑sharing environments. 
 

Talk by Hannah Tschenett

Data stewards operate at the intersection of policy, compliance, research support, technical systems, and institutional expectations, often with broad responsibilities and limited authority. This combination makes the role especially vulnerable to overload, ambiguity, and chronic pressure. The session will examine how burnout develops, how it differs from ordinary stress, and which organisational factors sustain it. It will also offer practical ways to recognise early warning signs, strengthen boundaries, improve role design, and build healthier data stewardship practices.

Led by Dagmar Hanzlíková and Matyáš Hiřman

In a world where research data multiplies faster than orcs in Mordor, new data stewards must embark on their own unexpected journey. This workshop, inspired by the Beginner’s Guide for Data Stewards, offers a practical and slightly humorous survival guide for those who suddenly find themselves responsible for FAIR data, metadata, and everything in between. Participants will explore the many “roles” a data steward must play, from strategist to hands-on problem solver, often all at once. Along the way, we will gather a Fellowship of peers, share tools to tame the data universe, and learn why no steward should walk this path alone. No ring required, just curiosity and resilience!

Led by Jeanne Wilbrandt

What are Maturity Models and why do we care about them? 

The ELIXIR RDM Community recently developed an RDM Maturity Model to provide a shared notion of what RDM service provision can look like. As a self-assessment tool, it allows to identify strenghts and potential gaps for strategic discussion and decision making. In this workshop, we will explore this model, shortly glance at existing alternatives, try out self-evaluation, and discuss its potential use and usefulness.

Led by Bruna Piereck Moura

In this 1h30 workshop, Bruna will share the process and evolution of developing the RDM course in VIB together with two of the biggest universities in Flandres. In the past 4 years the course evolved to adapt to challenges faced in the delivery and to better express the specificities of the universities.

Panel Discussion

Participants: Katarzyna Biernacka, Arzuv Čaryjeva, Patrick Helling, Marcus Schmidt, Barbara Strasser-Kirchweger

Moderation: Jeanne Wilbrandt

Data stewardship sounds simple enough: provide support on RDM for researchers, develop strategies for standardized data handling, make research FAIR and open. Based on this, employers may have high expectations, leading to (overwhelmingly) long lists of tasks and insufficient acknowledgement of achievements. The reality is often shaped by colliding systems, roles, attitudes, and legacy data. We want to surface common pitfalls, pragmatic approaches, and successful strategies that help us navigate this difficult system.