Skills4EOSC brings together leading experiences of national, regional, institutional and thematic Open Science (OS) and Data Competence Centres from 18 European countries with the goal of unifying the current training landscape into a common and trusted pan-European ecosystem, in order… Read more to accelerate the upskilling of European researchers and data professionals in the field of FAIR and Open Data, intensive-data science and Scientific Data Management. Competence Centres (CC) are seen as centres of gravity of OS and EOSC activities in their countries. These entities can either be established national initiatives (as is the case of ICDI in Italy) or initiatives under establishment (e.g. Austria, Greece and the Nordic countries) or organizations which have the leading or mandated contribution to the OS activities nationally. CCs pool the expertise available within research institutions, universities and thematic and cross-discipline research infrastructures. They offer training and support, empowerment, lifelong learning, professionalization and resources to a variety of stakeholders, including not only researchers and data stewards, but also funders, decision makers, civil servants, and industry. Thanks to their position at the heart of the above described multi-stakeholder landscape, the CCs represented by the Skills4EOSC partners play a pivotal role in national plans for Open Science and in the interaction with scientific communities. They also have close access to policy makers and the related funding streams. The Skills4EOSC project will leverage this reference role to establish a pan-European network of CCs on OS and data, coordinating the work done at the national level to upskill professionals in this field. The Skills4EOSC CC network will drive the co-creation of harmonised trainer accreditation pathways, academic and professional curricula and skills quality assurance, recognition frameworks, and learning material creation methodologies.

BIGPICTURE, a pathology-led consortium, has the vision to become the catalyst in digital transformation in Pathology. Our mission is to create the first European GDPR compliant platform, in which both quality-controlled Whole Slide Imaging (WSI) data and advanced Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms… Read more will exist. The BIGPICTURE platform will be built on existing assets of ELIXIR EU data infrastructure, including the federated European Genome-phenome Archive (EGA) technology for managing the exchange of confidential information between contributors and users. The consortium will use Cytomine, an established open-source, cross-platform framework to develop unique tools for access to WSI, including annotations and visualisation of algorithm results, while we will develop new and generic models to facilitate AI development and mining of WSI data. By engaging and building consensus with all the relevant stakeholders, we will contribute to the development of a regulatory framework for digital slides and AI-based methods. Finally, BIGPICTURE envisions sustainability of its platform through a community- based model which relies on reciprocity, value creation and inclusiveness. To achieve our vision, we have brought together Europe’s leaders in the field of computational pathology who have access to national and European high-performance computing infrastructures as well as Europe’s fully digitalised pathology departments. Additionally, the consortium has currently access to approximately 4.5 million clinical WSI covering a wider range of indications through 17 partners and 23 third parties from the largest European and international pathology and trial groups. Our consortium is further strengthened by the presence of the European Society of Pathology, Digital Pathology Association, FDA and 9 SMEs as partners, while we are further supported by professional societies, and patient advocates.

MEETmeTONIGHT (MEET) – “Face to face with the research” is the proposal for the European Researchers’ Night in 2020, happening in the major Italian cities of Milan, Naples, Caserta and Padua, complemented by Brescia, Castellanza, Cremona, Edolo, Lecco, Lodi, Mantova,… Read more Monza, Sondrio (Lombardy region), Avellino, Portici, Procida (Campania region), Cassino, Frosinone, Gaeta, Ventotene (Lazio region) and Asiago (Veneto region). The goal is to realize a special occasion of meeting and interaction between the public at large and the world of research, where researchers – at the forefront of all the proposed activities – can show themselves and what they do, in a simple, spontaneous, informal and entertaining way, actively involving the public. People, by doing, find themselves learning, getting amused, and becoming aware of how much research is for everyone and all around us. All MEET activities aim at promoting research and its outcomes, researchers and their profession, with a special attention to the youngest generations on one side, and to the recognition of the role of Europe on the other. With one common macro-theme, detailed in five thematic areas and five slogans, MEET proposes interactive stands, hands-on experiments and live demos that reconstruct the research environment; conferences, video projections, interactive games; guided visits to scientific museums; meeting occasions with researchers; European Corners; live broadcast moments. A special attention is given to schools’ pupils, for which a number of dedicated activities are foreseen, at the goal of encouraging them to consider research career as a concrete option for their life, and to sustainability, one of the most important topics to be considered to achieve a better future.

Research Infrastructures (RI) are standing pillars for excellence in science and a vital element for the realization of the European Union as a knowledge-based society. Together with Core Facilities (CF)- existing in many universities, academic research centres and national nodes of distributed… Read more RI- RI are also major actors in the implementation of the EU Open Science and Open Innovation strategy and a major factor for its success. As RI and CF increase in importance, questions about how to organize, maintain, manage and finance them have become a major topic for funding and research organisations. This proposal brings together, for the first time, RI, CF and European universities, in a new innovative concept to transform the access and empowerment of human resources for national and international scientific facilities in Europe. The overarching goal of RItrainPlus is to design and deliver a training programme to fulfill the competency requirements for the current and future managers of European RI and CF. RItrain Plus will: i) drive excellence, operational improvements and long-term sustainability of European RI and CF by developing: formal learning activities: executive post-graduate courses; learning on the job: staff exchange, with a short-term mobility programme at different RI/CF locations; peer learning: a Community of Practice, within all RI and CF, able to promote existing excellence and experience, and share knowledge; ii) create a foundation for the long-term provision of highly qualified personnel for managing RI and CF by developing Learning Activities embedded in existing university programs and a certifiable European Longitudinal Learning Track; iii) establish a permanent and self-sustainable European School for Management of Research Infrastructures. In the fouryear project all the required steps will be performed, with extended involvement of ERICs, EIROforum members, national agencies, and other relevant stakeholders in the design process.