This event is aimed at early career researchers from all scientific fields and domains!

The third DKZ.2R Data Competence College will be hosted from September 28th to 30th at the University of Cologne. Based on the concept of the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin or the Institute of Advanced Studies in Princeton, we have invited individuals with high data competence from different scientific fields (“Data Experts”) as part of the data competence college.

Data Experts: We invited three individuals with very high data competence who will give keynote presentations and act as data experts:

• Dr. Anna Poetsch works on employing computational techniques and machine learning approachers to assess and model DNA damage and repair processes, mutagenesis and genome editing to develop clinical applications. Her group established a novel technique for genome-wide measurements of oxidative DNA damage and contributed to the understanding of genome editing precision.

• Dr. Julia Kowalski is Professor at the Chair of Methods for Model-based Development in Computational Engineering at RWTH Aachen. In her work she develops computational models to study and predict complex engineering systems and environmental processes, such as geohazards. She is an open science and DAIR data advocate, passionate abouot modern research software engineering, holistic computational workflow management, and ensuring “analysis-readiness” of data to forster sustibability in CSE and to maximize our knowledge return from computational investments.

• Anoop Chandran is part of the Jülich Supercomputing Centre of Forschungszentrum Jülich and provides expertise in Machine Learning, High Performance Computing and AI.

For three days we aim to create a space where early career researchers can learn from the data experts and each other regarding research data and methods but also data experts can inspire each other. The schedule includes keynote presentations by all data experts, poster presentations by the participants, and 1:1 sessions between data experts and early career researchers, as well as a variety of method- and data-related workshops. We aim at creating an environment in which everyone feels safe to give input, share their knowledge and learn from the other participants and experts. This years optional workshops at the Data Competence College will focus on Machine Learning methods, Deep Learning and Neural Networks.

The exchange with and among experts from different disciplines and/or areas of focus in particular can provide new impetus for data processing or methodical data analysis. In this way, the DKZ.2R Data Competence College forms the focus of mutual enrichment participants and experts alike.

Visit our DKZ.2R Zenodo community to find more about the first and second Data Competence Colleges.

Use this link to register to the Data Competence College: Registration Link

Event Details:

• Time: Monday, September 28th - Wednesday, September 30th, 2025
• Location: University of Cologne, Weyertal 119a, 50931 (Building 911, S221 & S224)

Preliminary Schedule of Events:

A downloadable schedule including abstracts can be found here.