Looking back: the NFDI4ING Conference 2025
The NFDI4ING conference 2025 from 15 to 16 September marked a milestone: it was the first in-person conference since project launch, taking place at the Georg-Christoph-Lichtenberg-Haus in Darmstadt. Under the guiding theme “FAIR digital objects, data products and digital twins”, participants from academia, industry, and data science got together to discuss federated infrastructures, knowledge graphs, data literacy in engineering curricula, FAIR implementation in industrial settings, and the growing role of AI in metadata management and digital twin applications.
The conference created valuable opportunities for informal exchange – from poster-hall discussions to a social dinner on Tuesday evening. The blend of formal content and networking helped forge new collaborations, and reinvigorate the community’s commitment to FAIR data practices. After primarily connecting via video chats during recent years, the personal interactions and cross-disciplinary dialogues have laid a strong foundation for future joint efforts.
Looking forward: NFDI4ING & NFDI4Cat Conference 2026
We are excited to announce that one of these joint efforts is our next conference: In 2026, there will be a joint NFDI4ING & NFDI4Cat conference at the DECHEMA venue in Frankfurt am Main.
This joint format aims to bring together stakeholders from engineering and catalysis sciences, expanding the community, bridging domains, and fostering interdisciplinary exchange. By combining expertise from both consortia, the conference seeks to explore synergies in FAIR data infrastructures, metadata standards, data sharing practices, and the digital transformation of research in engineering and catalysis. Given the strong overlap between data-intensive research in both fields, this cooperation promises to generate fresh ideas, cross-fertilisation, and broader impact.
We are still in the process of finalizing some details, such as the exact date of the conference. It will likely take place late in 2026. We will provide information on the call for papers, the agenda and the registration process as soon as we are ready. We look forward to welcoming you in Frankfurt!
T. Schwetje