Technical Launch of the EOSC EU Node Sets the Stage for a Successful Deployment

On 10 October 2024, the European Commission hosted the technical launch of the EOSC EU Node in Brussels. This event marked a significant milestone when the contractors formally delivered their managed services to the Commission acting as the service owner of the platform. The EOSC EU Node is the first reference implementation of a gateway designed to streamline access to scientific data, publications, software, and services. This digital platform enables researchers across Europe to collaborate more effectively and drive progress in Open Science.  

The technical launch event provided a comprehensive overview of the main design concepts and unique features of the EOSC EU Node that will soon be open for public access. Participants were shown live demonstrations of the typical user journeys across the platform, giving them insights into how it will support multi-disciplinary and multi-national research use cases across Europe.

A brand-new promotional video was also unveiled, offering a general overview of what the EOSC EU Node is and how it empowers users and contributors in the research landscape.  

The event featured two panel discussions. The first was focused on the build-up phase of the EOSC Federation, diving into questions of its evolution, organisation, user experience and other relevant aspects. The second panel discussion welcomed speakers from various Directorates of the European Commission (DG SANTE, DG ENV, DG RTD, DG CNECT), who discussed how EOSC can connect to other Common European Data Spaces and contribute to the objective of the European Data Strategy to make the EU a leading data-driven society. Distinguished panellists elaborated on the potential integration options of their respective data spaces and digital platforms with EOSC’s federated infrastructure and envisioned how creating these links will be invaluable in providing their user communities with the data and services necessary to excel.

The EOSC EU Node is expected to be fully operational and available for public use by the EOSC Symposium, which will be held from 21-23 October 2024 in Berlin, Germany.  The managed services provided for the EOSC EU Node in production unveil a full suite of functionalities, offering researchers and scientific resource providers a powerful tool to contribute and benefit from Open Science.

As the EOSC EU Node moves toward its production release for researchers, all stakeholders are encouraged to stay informed about the upcoming developments and to engage with the platform’s growing array of services. For more information, you can watch the event recordings here. 

Article from the official EOSC EU Node website

EGI participates in developing the core services constituting the EOSC EU Node and brings the expertise in service planning, delivery, operation, and control founded on FitSM. Moreover, EGI is responsible for a comprehensive verification and validation plan for the entire EOSC EU node, ensuring the best possible experience for the users regarding the availability and stability of features, performance, and security. Last but not least, EGI oversees the security coordination of the EOSC EU Node.