A key focus of the meeting was the ongoing development and coordination of core services across the consortium. Updates included ELN integration, metadata workflows, ontology development and knowledge graph infrastructure. Several Task Areas presented their progress and outlined plans for the second funding phase, including alignment with Base4NFDI services and collaborations with other NFDI consortia. The roll-out group discussed onboarding strategies, training formats, and technical monitoring of service usage.
One of the meeting‘s highlights was the demonstrator pitch session, where various IUCs presented technical solutions – ranging from automated data validation to semantic tools and user-oriented interfaces. The value of this session lay in its practical focus:
- How much effort is needed to adapt a tool to a real use case?
- What added value does it add to a researcher's daily workflow?
- How can tools be made accessible without technical hurdles?
These user-centred questions led to a productive dialogue that challenged assumptions and gave developers valuable insights into the needs and expectations of the MSE community.
The afternoon of the first on-site day was dedicated to focused breakout sessions. IUC members and roll-out experts worked together to prepare demonstrators for integration into the NFDI-MatWerk website. This hands-on phase helped clarify documentation needs, uncover remaining gaps, and outline next steps for implementation. A parallel working session focused on mapping and updating the current IUC landscape - including discussion of potential mergers, new use cases and support needs from participating projects.
The final day focused on strategic planning and coordination of the renewal proposal. Building on insights from previous sessions, participants discussed the structure of future work packages, cross-cutting issues like AI and ontology integration, and ideas for future collaborations. A series of parallel workshops allowed for a deeper dive into proposal-related topics, including outreach, community engagement, and technical interoperability across NFDI consortia.
Over the course of the three days, it became clear where the consortium stands, what is needed for the next phase, and how teams can better coordinate their efforts. With visible technical progress, honest feedback and a shared focus on usability, the meeting laid a strong basis for the work ahead.