e-IRG Workshop under Polish EU Presidency

Note: The venue location and detailed logistics are at the bottom of this page! Registration will open toward the end of April. 

The e-Infrastructure Reflection Group (e-IRG) organises two open workshops every year, each under the auspices of the corresponding presidency of the EU Council. The Polish EU Presidency e-IRG Workshop is organised as a hybrid event hosted by PSNC, and will bring together e-Infrastructure stakeholders in Poznan, Poland, as well as online and worldwide. 

The event's overarching theme is "e-Infrastructures activities in the new European Research Area (ERA)", with its opportunities and challenges including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cybersecurity. It is reminded that Research Infrastructures, including e-Infrastructures (referred to also as eRIs or digital infrastructures) are considered as "ERA structural policies", i.e. long-term policies that are well integrated with national and EU policies.   

A set of sub-topics was proposed by the Programme Committee, composed of e-IRG delegations and e-Infrastructure Assembly members, and three ones have been agreed upon, namely: 

1. Artificial Intelligence in Research and Science, in particular, the role of e-Infrastructures in AI, including the recently awarded AI factories by EuroHPC. 
   • The EU and the Member States/Associated Countries are heavily investing in national and European e-Infrastructures, including High-Performance Computing and AI-facilities. These investments support cutting-edge research and science, reinforcing Europe’s role in global Research Infrastructures. Maintaining the financial, operational, and environmental sustainability of such Research Infrastructures is crucial. This includes investments in energy-efficient infrastructures, ongoing modernisation of systems, and ensuring long-term viability. A new key initiative in this area is the EU Competitiveness Compass, and a set of related Acts and initiatives, which will be presented and discussed.
   • Under this topic developments at EU and national levels will be reviewed, both success stories (e.g. good practices) and also challenges faced, and how these were overcome or not.
2. Cybersecurity for society and in particular for Research and Science including Research Infrastructures.
   • Security, in all its dimensions, including Information, i.e. Cybersecurity, is one of the Polish EU Presidency's priorities. Horizon Europe is divided into pillars, one of which is Excellent Science, where Research Infrastructures are funded, and another one is Global Challenges, where Civil Security for Society is one of the clusters. Cybersecurity measures are encompassed in this area, and funding for cybersecurity research is run by the EC European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC). Furthermore, the NIS-2 directive establishes a unified legal framework to increase cybersecurity in critical sectors across the EU. "It calls on Member States to define national cybersecurity strategies and collaborate with the EU for cross-border reaction and enforcement". The updates on Cybersecurity and NIS-2 will be discussed during the workshop.
   • Under this topic developments at EU and national levels will be reviewed, both success stories (e.g. good practices) and also challenges faced, and how these were overcome or not.
      
3. EU Data Spaces and EOSC: Preparation for a broader interoperable data ecosystem.
   • Common European Data Spaces will make more data across different thematic fields available for access and reuse in a trustworthy, interoperable and secure environment, building the single market for data, for the benefit not only of researchers, but mainly of EU businesses and citizens. The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), which is the Data Space for Research and Science, is progressing, enrolling a set of nodes, starting from the EU node, to build up the EOSC federation. The session will discuss the developments of the EU Data Spaces, and in particular the work towards an interoperable data ecosystem. News from the recent EU Data Spaces Symposium will also be reported. 
     Under this topic developments at the EU level across several EU Data Spaces will be reported, focusing on interoperability and the link with EOSC and Open Science, which is another structural policy of the next ERA Policy Agenda (2025-2027) besides Research Infrastructures.

Tuesday 24 June 2025, 14:00-18:00

Session 1:  Artificial Intelligence in Research and Science

Session 2 : Cybersecurity for society and in particular for Research and Science

New: Site visit to PSNC HPC and EOSC data centres

Wednesday 25 June 2024, 09:00-12:00

Session 2: cont'd

Session 3: EU Data Spaces and EOSC: Preparation for a broader interoperable data ecosystem.

Looking forward to a fruitful workshop!

Stefan Hanslik, e-IRG Chair

Nortber Meyer, e-IRG co-Chair

Fotis Karayannis, Michael Maragakis, Bernd Saurugger, Jan Wiebelitz, e-IRG Support Project

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