The eighth NFDI4Chem consortium meeting (Consortium Meeting 4.5) took place on 10 April. More than 60 participants met in an online conference to discuss the focus areas of the second funding phase. There were also some new faces among the attendees, as the consortium has grown in recent weeks: Georg Manolikakes and his colleagues from RPTU, as well as Stefan Kuhn (Tartu University) were among them, as well as several participants of the community workshop in February who are interested in working in NFDI4Chem.
After an overview of the planned measures in the renewal proposal by the task area leads, the participants divided into breakout sessions in which new trends in the research landscape, challenges and solutions for the respective area were discussed. One overarching topic was the role of artificial intelligence (AI), be it in the integration of AI in tools and services or in the provision of data for AI (‘AI-readiness’). In addition, the sustainability of services and repositories was identified as a core aspect. The members of the advisory boards also identified this sustainability as a key challenge for NFDI4Chem, particularly with regard to closer collaboration with industry. In addition to the development of their own business models within the services and repositories, the participants also saw it as the responsibility of politics to create a long-term financial framework for the success of the NFDI.
The Consortium Meeting 4.5 was a perfect kick-off to the subsequent writing phase of the renewal proposal for the second funding phase, in which we are sure to welcome further new members. NFDI4Chem is looking forward to future collaboration in the growing team!
