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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
idw - Informationsdienst
Wissenschaft
The U Bremen Research Alliance and the interdisciplinary Bremen Data Competence Center DataNord co-hosted Research Data Day on April 15, 2026, in the Kassenhalle at the Forum am Domshof in Bremen. Held under the theme “Meet the Northwest Data Space,” the event highlighted data initiatives from the Bremen–Oldenburg region and offered opportunities for discussion and networking.
Joint Press Release with the Senator for Environment, Climate and Science Bremen
Bremen, April 15, 2026. Research Data Day 2026 in Bremen met with strong interest. The event, held in the Kassenhalle at Forum am Domshof, was fully booked in advance. Around 100 participants from academia, politics, and industry took the opportunity to exchange views on current developments in research data management and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in science.
The event focused on the socio-political significance of data, the development of high-performance data infrastructures, and the responsible use of AI in research.
At the start of the event, Karolina Kumar, State Secretary at the Senator for Environment, Climate and Science, emphasized the socio-political dimension of data:
“Democracy requires reliable data. Data literacy is a foundation for evidence-based policymaking and thus for societal value. The Northwest demonstrates how close cooperation between academia, public administration, and industry can create high-performance and trustworthy data spaces.”
The importance of shared structures also became clear. A central example is the Data Space Northwest:
In the Data Space Northwest, data initiatives from Bremen, Oldenburg, and the surrounding region have joined forces to form a cooperative network. In doing so, they are developing key foundations for future-proof research in the region: reliable structures for sustainable research data management, secure data access, and cross-institutional collaboration in accordance with the FAIR principles. At the same time, they address key challenges such as IT security, data sovereignty, and the trustworthy use of AI.
The Data Space Northwest thus serves as a model for a new, cooperative approach to research data and demonstrates how regional networking strengthens innovation capacity, scientific quality, and the ability to act in society.
Research data and AI are closely interconnected: data forms the basis for AI applications, while AI opens up new possibilities for processing and analyzing large volumes of data. At the same time, it became clear that the use of AI requires clear frameworks.
In his keynote, “Putting Humans at the Center: Requirements for Successful AI Integration,” Prof. Dr. Dennis-Kenji Kipker, Professor of IT Security Law at Bremen University of Applied Sciences and Academic Director and Founder of the cyberintelligence.institute, emphasized the role of humans in working with AI:
“Artificial intelligence is not a new colleague, but a tool. It can accelerate and support processes, but responsibility and evaluation remain with humans. What matters is that we use AI consciously, transparently, and with clear rules.”
The infrastructural perspective was highlighted by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrike Lucke in her keynote, “Research Infrastructures for and with AI.” The professor of Complex Multimedia Application Architectures at the Institute of Computer Science and Computational Science at the University of Potsdam, and Deputy Spokesperson of the NFDI consortium NFDIxCS, made clear that powerful and interconnected structures are a key prerequisite for the successful use of AI:
“High-performance data infrastructures are the prerequisite for effectively using artificial intelligence in research. However, these structures cannot be built in isolation. Only through close cooperation within the scientific community do shared architectures emerge that enable data exchange and create real progress.”
A highlight of the event was the presentation of the Data Champion Award 2026 to Dr. Anne Speer and Charlotte Brandhorst (both University of Bremen / Research Institute for Social Cohesion), as well as Leonie Wolfrath from the University of Mannheim. Their data project on the RISC milieu typology was recognized; it analyzes social groups, values, and societal lines of conflict while also making the data openly accessible.
“We are very pleased to receive the Data Champion Award. Our goal was to prepare the RISC milieu typology in such a way that it is understandable and freely usable for other researchers. By providing data, methods, and tools openly, we create the foundation for transparent, reproducible research. At the same time, applications such as the Milieu Calculator provide easy access for the public and help strengthen societal dialogue about cohesion and diverse living realities,” said Dr. Anne Speer.
The annual event is organized by the U Bremen Research Alliance as part of DataNord, the interdisciplinary data competence center for the Bremen region, in close cooperation with researchers and research support staff from its member institutions. DataNord is funded by the Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) and financed by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
Across all contributions, one point became clear: future-proof research in the digital age can only succeed through collaboration. The Data Space Northwest, DataNord, and the U Bremen Research Alliance stand for a cooperative approach that moves beyond isolated solutions. Building data literacy is essential to harness the potential of artificial intelligence while also realistically assessing its limitations. At the same time, legal frameworks, compliance issues, and geopolitical aspects are becoming increasingly important—particularly with regard to data sovereignty, data storage locations, and the responsible handling of sensitive information.
Media contacts:
Aylin Krieger
Coordinator for Communication and Marketing at the U Bremen Research Alliance
Phone: +49 421 218 60046
E-Mail: aylin.krieger@vw.uni-bremen.de
Ina Schulze
Press Spokesperson at the Senator for Environment, Climate and Science
Phone: +49 (0)421 361-96 269
Email: ina.schulze@umwelt.bremen.de
About UBRA:
The University of Bremen and twelve federal and state financed non-university research institutes cooperate within the U Bremen Research Alliance. The Alliance includes research institutes of the four major German science organizations, i.e. Fraunhofer Society, Helmholtz Association, Leibniz Association and Max Planck Society, as well as the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence.
https://www.bremen-research.de/tag-der-forschungsdaten-2026-2 Overview Day of Research Data (German only)
https://www.bremen-research.de/en/data-champion-award/data-champion-award-2026 Data Champion Award winner
https://www.bremen-research.de/en/activities/research-data-and-data-science/nort... Northwest Data Space
https://www.bremen-research.de/en/datanord Website DataNord
left to right: Prof. Dr. Michal Kucera, Prof. Dr. Iris Pigeot, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Uta Bohnebeck, Karoli ...
Source: Jens Lehmkühler
Copyright: Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance
The panel discussion centered on practical questions surrounding the use of AI in both academia and ...
Source: Jens Lehmkühler
Copyright: Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance
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