
4. Workshop: Ontologies4Chem
November 11 , 9:00 – November 13 , 18:00 CET
Registration & Call for Contribution

Dear colleagues,
We are pleased to share the preliminary agenda for the 4th Ontologies4Chem Workshop 2025 in Limburg an der Lahn (Hesse, Germany, 0,5 hour by train from Frankfurt Airport) which will be jointly organized by NFDI4Chem, NFDI4Cat, Beilstein-Institut & PSDI.
Preliminary Agenda & Overview:
The core program of the workshop will be held from Tue, Nov 11 to Thu, Nov 13, with a “Welcome Dinner” on Monday evening (Nov 10) and departure on Friday morning (Nov 14) after breakfast.
Time/Day | Mon, Nov 10 | Tue, Nov 11 | Wed, Nov 12 | Thu, Nov 13 | Fri, Nov 14 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
08:00 – 09:00 | Breakfast | ||||
09:00 – 10:00 | Welcome & Opening Keynote | Presentations around the topic “Ontological Representation of Chemical Reactions” | Presentations around the Topic “Ontological Representation of Chemical Entities” | Departure | |
10:00 – 12:00 | Lightning Talks from NFDI consortia, PSDI etc. | ||||
12:00 – 13:00 | Lunch | ||||
13:00 – 16:00 | Arrival & Registration | Updates from Ontology Projects & Applications build upon ontologies | Hacking Sessions | Hacking Sessions | |
Groups prepare presentations and feedback about hacking session for last day | |||||
16:00 – 18:00 | Hacking Sessions Ontology Curation & Tools | Social Event | Report back on hacking sessions, final discussions & closing of the Workshop | ||
19:30 | Dinner |
Tue, Nov 11: Chemistry related Projects & Ontology Development
Focused on projects developing, curating, or implementing ontologies within a FAIR data management context.
Wed, Nov 12: Representing Chemical Reactions with Ontologies
Focused on continuing the discussion around which ontologies can and should be used to represent chemical reactions.
Thu, Nov 13: Representing Chemical Entities with Ontologies
Focused on continuing the discussion around the current ontologies used to represent chemical entities, especially how to reuse and improve ChEBI using AI assisted classification, design patterns, and community curation approaches.
Each day will feature morning presentations to inspire engaging discussions and hands-on hacking sessions in the afternoon.
Workshop Goals
A key aim of this workshop is to agree on a “canon” of recommended chemistry-related ontologies for metadata annotation of FAIR research data. By “canon”, we mean a set of widely accepted, interoperable ontologies that can be used reliably across the chemistry community. We also plan to improve the documentation of these ontologies in the NFDI4Chem Terminology Service, by linking them to specific projects and identifying any gaps or issues.
We encourage you to share:
- Examples of data that require annotation with chemistry-related ontologies
- Specific issues or barriers you face in using such ontologies for annotation
Your input will help us create a more practical and impactful workshop!
Call for Contribution
We warmly invite you to help shape the workshop program by contributing your ideas for:
- Presentations (relevant ontologies, case studies, technical challenges, user experiences)
- Discussion topics (e.g., best practices, interoperability, challenges in ontology use)
- Hacking sessions (collaborative problem-solving, ontology curation or development)
Please send us your suggestions via our contact email address ontologies@nfdi4chem.de. If you have any questions about the types of requested contributions or other topics related to the workshop, please feel free to contact us.
Registration
Registration is already open and free of charge, i.e. participants only have to cover the costs for their accommodation.
The Dom Hotel Limburg is offering room contingents for registered workshop participants at a price of 125 EUR per person and night (incl. breakfast). More detailed information on room reservations at the conference hotel will be provided in the confirmation email after registration.
We look forward to welcoming you to Limburg in November!
Best regards,
The Workshop Organization Team
(NFDI4Chem, NFDI4Cat, Beilstein-Institut & PSDI)
