Frequently asked ...
The NFDIxCS consortium (National Research Data Infrastructure for and with Computer Science) is an initiative to create a sustainable research data infrastructure for computer science (CS) in Germany. It is one of 26 NFDI consortia, whose shared objective is to improve data management practices and implement the FAIR data principles.
Under the leadership of the University of Duisburg-Essen, 17 computer science institutions and a large number of individual researchers and partner institutions are developing a national research data infrastructure for computer science. The main parties ("Co-Applicants") include leading research institutions, universities and technology centers in Germany. An overview of the Co-Applicants and their contributions within NFDIxCS can be found on our map.
A central idea of NFDIxCS is to develop research data management services not only for but particularly with computer scientists from all CS subdisciplines. Therefore, the key principle in NFDIxCS is to assemble an organizational and technical, cooperative and interoperable infrastructure to join the available forces of relevant services and actors from and for CS.
A total of ten computer science subdisciplines are contributing to NFDIxCS:
- Theoretical Computer Science
- Software Engineering and Programming Languages
- Security and Dependability
- Operating, Communication, Database and Distributed Systems
- Visual Computing
- Business Information Systems
- Computer Architecture and Embedded Systems
- Massively Parallel & Data Intensive Systems
- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
- Interactive Systems
The main objectives of the NFDIxCS consortium are to promote open access to research data and software, to improve data quality and (re-)usability, and to support the scientific community in implementing the FAIR principles.
NFDIxCS contributes to computer science research by implementing FAIR data principles, simplifying the citation of software and data, and modernizing publication processes. It provides a forum for discussing data formats and semantics, working towards accepted standards for sustainable data storage, retrieval, and availability. A key objective of the consortium is the development and implementation of an infrastructure – the Research Data Management Container (RDMC) – that enables not only long-term archiving of data but also software, metadata, and the corresponding execution environment. The consortium supports the use of Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and machine learning, helping to generate and handle large amounts of data. Additionally, it shares knowledge on system architectures, processes, and interoperability standards with other scientific disciplines.
Research data management (RDM) involves the organization, storage, and sharing of data generated and used in research projects. It ensures data integrity, accessibility, and compliance with ethical and legal standards throughout the research lifecycle. If you would like to learn more about RDM and RDM initiatives, please visit https://forschungsdaten.info/english-pages/, https://www.tu.berlin/en/ub/szf or related services.
NFDIxCS remains open to new participants. Requirements generally include active engagement in computer science research or related fields, commitment to implementing FAIR data principles, and willingness to contribute expertise and resources to consortium activities. For detailed information, please reach out to the NFDIxCS secretary.