DNU at the RIFF Summit in Brno: Development of Digital Research Infrastructures and International Cooperation

On June 15–16, the Thematic Summit on Health & Food, Environment, and Data, Computing & Digital Research Infrastructures was held at Masaryk University in Brno (Czech Republic) within the framework of the RIFF project (Research Infrastructures for the Future of Ukraine: Roadmap for Sustained Growth and Recovery). The summit was dedicated to the issues of health and nutrition, the environment, as well as data, computing and digital research infrastructures. Oles Honchar Dnipro National University was represented by the Acting Vice-Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work Natalia Guk.

The event was organized with the participation of RIFF project partners, in particular Masaryk University (Czech Republic), which plays a leading role in the implementation of the project. The summit participants were welcomed at the beginning by Rector Martin Bareš, who noted the importance of developing international cooperation in the field of research infrastructures.

During the opening of the summit, project coordinator Ondřej Hradil (Masaryk University) presented the RIFF project and its role in the development of research infrastructures in Ukraine.

Also delivering speeches were Jan Hrušák (member of the ESFRI Executive Board, Czech Academy of Sciences), who presented ESFRI as a European mechanism for coordinating research infrastructures. Lucie Stewart (National Contact Point of the Czech Republic for Horizon Europe, Prague Technology Center), who reviewed the opportunities for developing research infrastructures within the Horizon Europe program. Catherine Simoneau (Joint Research Center of the European Commission), who presented the opportunities for open access to JRC research institutions. And Menattallah Elserafy (UNESCO), who presented the UNESCO initiative for remote access to laboratory equipment (UNESRALE) and the professional development program.

Leading European experts delivered presentations within the thematic area “Data, Computing and Digital Research Infrastructures”. Isabel Campos (Spanish National Research Council CSIC, ESFRI DIGIT Strategic Working Group) discussed the development of e-infrastructures and the application of artificial intelligence in the European research environment. Ilaria Fava (EGI.eu) presented the possibilities of advanced computing services for research and the EuroHPC initiative. Luděk Matyska (Masaryk University) presented approaches to the development of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).

 

The second day of the summit was dedicated to presentations by Ukrainian participants of the summit and discussion of the prospects for the development of research infrastructures in Ukraine.

Natalia Guk gave a presentation on the topic “Mathematical foundations of sustainable digital research infrastructures: structural modeling and the inverse problem method for data ecosystems”, which presented an approach to mathematical description, reconstruction and analysis of complex systems. The presentation considered data-driven approaches to reconstructing system states, forming Data Moat based on observations, using AI to form inverse operators and analyze data.

Anton Koshel (National University of Life Resources and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine) presented research on geospatial technologies for transparent reconstruction and sustainable territorial development of Ukraine. Sabina Auganas (TIB – Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology) in her presentation considered the issues of metadata management and implementation of FAIR principles in research infrastructures. Valeriy Osypov (Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine) presented approaches to the development of human-centric digital ecological research infrastructures based on Ukrainian experience. Igor Kuzmenko (National Technical University of Ukraine „Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute“) presented a specialized information and communication system using blockchain technology. Serhiy Svystunov (M.M. Bogolyubov Institute of Theoretical Physics, NAS of Ukraine) spoke about the development of the national grid infrastructure. Vadim Tulchinsky (V.M. Glushkov Institute of Cybernetics, NAS of Ukraine) presented a vision of the development of open science infrastructures in Ukraine. All reports were accompanied by vivid presentations.

An important component of the summit program was excursions to the research laboratories of the Czech Masaryk University. Participants had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with modern approaches to organizing scientific activity, using research infrastructures and digital technologies in research.

Інформаційно-аналітичне агентство
Дніпровського національного університету