7th SaxFDM-Conference

© IFW Dresden | J. Lösel

7th SAX-FDM CONFERENCE | 24th – 25th NOVEMBER 2026

This year, the 7th SaxFDM Conference will take place on 24th–25th November 2026 under the motto Rethinking Research Data: Governance, AI and Sustainable Data Environments at the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW) in Dresden.

Under the theme ‘Rethinking Research Data Management – Governance, AI and Sustainable Data Environments, we would like to explore with you which models have proven effective – and which have not – for the management and use of research data as a strategic resource. We are also interested in how cooperation and active collaboration between different stakeholders influence data management.

Another key focus is on the role of data quality in the development of AI models. We would also like to discuss how AI applications can effectively support research data management in day-to-day research and consultancy work.

Furthermore, the question arises as to what forms of accountability are necessary to operate information infrastructures reliably and in the long term. Finally, we would like to consider together what skills will be required in research data management in the future to successfully navigate the numerous transformation processes within the scientific system.

TOPIC AREA I

Responsibility and Governance in RDM

Who is responsible, who makes the decisions, and who carries out the work? In practice, RDM governance often remains unclear within the structure of institutional management, academic departments and (central) service units. We would like to explore which governance models have proven effective and what they mean for researchers in their daily work.

AI is transforming everyday research and, with it, the Research Data Management (RDM) framework. What data am I permitted to use for AI? What does it mean when my data is used as training data? How can research data effectively support the development of AI models? And how is AI changing advisory practice when clear answers are often still lacking?

TOPIC AREA II

Artificial Intelligence in the context of RDM

TOPIC AREA III

Sustainable Data Environments

Sustainability in RDM means more than just long-term archiving: it concerns the technical interoperability of systems, the financial and staff sustainability of infrastructures beyond the duration of individual projects, as well as the structural integration and shared organisational responsibility between institutions, consortia and European infrastructures. The interaction between stakeholders across the entire system at national and international levels is just as crucial as the use of research data and its management as a strategic resource at individual research institutions.