News

Below we report on recent advances in the field of data science at the University of Bremen and keep you informed about the activities of the DSC and its members. You will find news about research projects, education and training opportunities, transfer activities, and much more.

At the 38th Chaos Communication Congress, DataNord Data Scientist Sarah Büker introduced the fundamentals of FAIR data and good research data management – bringing essential data skills into the CCC’s creative and tech-savvy community.

From 27–30 December 2024, the 38th Chaos Communication Congress (38C3)took place in Hamburg – one of the world’s most renowned events on technology, society, and digital culture. Since 1984, the Congress has been organized by the community of the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) and thrives on the active participation of its attendees. Under this year’s motto “Illegal Instructions”, several thousand people gathered to explore creative, critical, and playful perspectives on technology and its societal implications through talks, workshops, and assemblies.

FAIR Data – explained in a clear and accessible way

On 29 December, Sarah Büker, Data Scientist in the DataNord project at the Data Science Center (DSC) of the University of Bremen, led a two-hour introductory workshop on FAIR data, metadata, data management plans, and the research data lifecycle.

With humor and practical examples, her workshop ?FAIR enough? Handling Research Data like a Pro“ spoke to everyone who works with data but still files it under names like “final_v2_REALLY_FINAL.csv.” The workshop covered:

what FAIR actually means
why documentation and metadata matter across all fields and career stages
what realistic, manageable data practices look like
where to look for help when data chaos sets in

Whether you work with data every day or only stumble over it occasionally – the session offered an easy entry point into the topic and addressed common challenges from everyday research practice, particularly in the natural and life sciences.

DSC strengthens data skills beyond academia

Sarah Büker’s contribution illustrated how the DSC, through its DataNord project, helps strengthen research data skills beyond traditional university contexts. By contributing to the 38C3, this knowledge reached interdisciplinary communities, labs, hackspaces, and the broader digital civil society – places where data play a central role in creative, experimental, and everyday contexts, even though FAIR principles are often not widely known. In doing so, the DSC contributes to improving data literacy across society.