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Fellowship of the Data 2025 – Growing together as an international RDM community
In early April, the second edition of Fellowship of the Data took place in Jena, Germany. This community-driven conference, initiated by data stewards and RDM trainers, has grown into an inspiring platform for anyone involved in Research Data Management (RDM). The event brought together a diverse group of professionals – from early-career data stewards to seasoned policy-makers, from local RDM coordinators to international networks such as NFDI, RDA and ELIXIR.
A space for peers
What made this conference stand out was its open and welcoming atmosphere. Fellowship of the Data deliberately focuses on building community: a place where colleagues from different countries and backgrounds meet, share experiences and learn from one another. The two-day programme offered space for keynotes, interactive sessions, poster presentations, and smaller group discussions – all grounded in daily practice.
Within that context, Mijke Jetten from Health-RI contributed a talk on bridging training, practice and community building in FAIR data stewardship. She shared how we are approaching this at Health-RI, through European collaborations within ELIXIR, and in the ELITMa programme – highlighting roles, skills, career development and the value of community learning through networks such as the Data Stewards Interest Group (DSIG) (https://tdcc.nl/dsig).
Training is essential – but not enough
In her talk, she emphasised that formal training is only one part of the story. Long-term development in the field of data stewardship is only possible when people can learn through real practice, share experiences with peers, and take shared responsibility for exchanging knowledge. This message resonated strongly with other contributions throughout the event.
Britta Petersen (Kiel University) shared a thoughtful approach to using learning objectives as the foundation for training data stewards. Michael Feichtinger (University of Vienna) described how a sustainable data stewardship network is being built at his institution, with strong focus on roles, responsibilities and mutual support. Antje Manske (GESIS / Base4NFDI) delivered a compelling talk on culture change in RDM, reminding us how important it is to empower individuals to become ‘agents of change’ within their own organisations.
Mijke also joined the RDM in Life Sciences & Friends breakout session – an open, informal discussion where people brought forward their challenges and practical needs. It was one of those rare moments where honest exchange and peer listening came together in a way that felt truly valuable.
Building bridges across contexts
This conference once again made clear that, despite structural and national differences, we face many of the same challenges across Europe. By making space for conversation, learning from each other, and taking time to reflect together, we not only find practical solutions – we strengthen the professional community that makes them possible.
- Slides from the presentation are available here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15117851