NFDI-MatWerk Summer School 2026 in Bochum – Research Data Management in Materials Science and Engineering

Why is it important?

Enabling a consistent and unobstructed standardization of research data will lead to substantial improvements in efficiency and synergies/collaboration among individual researchers and well-designed IT systems. In the era of digital infrastructures, this measure holds paramount importance in shaping the future of research. For the data to be sustainable and reusable, it must adhere to the “FAIR Data Principles”, meaning it should be “Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable”.

The FAIR principles will be a cornerstone of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) implementation. Nowadays, Data Management Plans (DMPs) have become a requirement for project applications in Horizon Europe and are increasingly being demanded by various funding organizations, including the German Science Foundation (DFG), among others.  

The scientific consortium NFDI-MatWerk (National Research Data Infrastructure) focuses on the research area Materials Science & Materials Engineering (MSE). The central challenge is the digital representation of materials and their relevant process and load parameters. NFDI-MatWerk will provide in this summer school tailored information and solutions for dealing with research data in MSE.

Who can apply?

PhD-students and Post-Docs working in experimental and/or modeling/simulation in any field of materials science and engineering (with or without experience in RDM). Advanced Master Students are also welcome to apply.

The Summer School will take place:

📅 From Monday, September 21st to Wednesday, September 23rd, 2026

📍 At Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany

Registration deadline: June 30th, 2026

Please keep in mind that the number of participants is limited. Therefore, the “First Come-First Served” principle will be applied. Those who register first will have priority to obtain a place in the summer school.

Contents
  • Keynote: Artificial Intelligence in MSE
  • Introduction to Research Data Management (RDM)
  • Electronic Laboratory Notebooks (ELN)
  • Coscine: Research Data Management Platform
  • PyIron: Complex workflows made easy
  • What is NFDI-MatWerk and how can I participate?
  • Lab Tour Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Target groups and required background

PhD-students and Post-Docs working in experimental and/or modeling/simulation in any field of materials science and engineering (with or without experience in RDM), maximum 20 places will be available. Basic knowledge of programming, for instance in Python, MatLab or similar programing languages would be beneficial.

Participants should bring their own laptop. Please install a python environment on your computer, for instance: Miniconda, PyCharm, Jupyter or at least ipython. It is required in some lectures!

Program

Monday, September 21st

tbd

Tuesday, September 22nd

tbd

Wednesday, September 23rd

tbd

Expected Learning Outcomes

Referents and organizers
  • Katharina Grünwald – RWTH Aachen University, IT Center
  • Markus Stricker – Interdisciplinary Centre for Advanced Materials Simulation, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
  • Tilmann Hickel – BAM Federal Institute of Materials Research
  • Miguel Marques – Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Organisation:

  • Alexander Hartmaier, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
  • Alexander Kauffmann, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
  • Flavio Soldera, Universität des Saarlandes
  • Pranav Nayak, Universität des Saarlandes
Venue

Ruhr-Universität Bochum
ZGH Center for Interface-Dominated High Performance Materials
Universitätsstr. 150
44801 Bochum

Accommodation

Accommodation is not included in the registration.

Participants are free to choose their accommodation. We kindly ask you to make all bookings directly with the hotel. 

Most hotel reservations require a valid credit card in order to guarantee the booking. We advise you also to check the cancellation terms with the hotel at the time of booking / reserving the accommodation.

Recommendations


Online Registration

Please keep in mind that the number of participants is limited. Therefore, the “First Come-First Served” principle will be applied.

Registration deadline: June 30, 2026
Those who register first will have priority to obtain a place in the summer school.

NFDI-MatWerk Summer School 2026

  • Max. file size: 2 MB.
    (Only PDF are accepted – Max. size: 2MB)
  • Max. file size: 2 MB.
    (Only PDF are accepted, max. 1 page – Max. size: 2MB) Indicate current situation for dealing with research data and expectations for the spring school.
  • Questionaire

    Now we would like to ask you to please answer these questions to tailor our courses to your current skills. Thank you!
  • Media Use Consent

    The EUSMAT office and NFDI-MatWerk would like to use the material recorded during the Summer School as well as other events organized and supported by EUSMAT in its different official plattforms. This authorization grants permission to use images, videos and other types of media for marketing purposes. EUSMAT and its Partners undertake not to use any images in a way that would cause embarrassment or misrepresent the intent of the student’s participation. I understand that I will not be paid for giving this permission and I hereby waive any claim that I may have had for remuneration, residuals, royalties or any other payment in respect of use of the images or videos.

IMPORTANT!
The participation is free of charge.
The event will take place in English.
In case of further inquiries please contact: office@eusmat.net

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