On April 15, 2026, the Kassenhalle at Forum am Domshof in Bremen became the central gathering place for northwest Germany’s research data community. Research Data Day, hosted by the U Bremen Research Alliance and the DataNord Data Competence Center, was fully booked and brought together representatives from academia, government, and industry.
The event focused on data initiatives in the Bremen-Oldenburg region and on how effective, responsible research data management can lay the groundwork for innovation, artificial intelligence, and evidence-based decision-making in society. One thing became clear: Northwest Germany has a closely connected, high-performing research data ecosystem that is being developed collaboratively across institutional boundaries.
With keynote talks, the presentation of the 2026 Data Champion Award, and a panel discussion, the event offered a platform for exchange and strategic networking. The strong interest reflects the growing importance of the topic — and at the same time highlights what sets Bremen-Oldenburg apart as a research region: a strong culture of collaboration, close connections, and a shared commitment to developing data-driven solutions to major challenges of the future.
Meet Data Space Northwest
Prof. Dr. Frank Oliver Glöckner warmly welcomed the participants of the evening event on behalf of the U Bremen Research Alliance and DataNord, the interdisciplinary Data Competence Center for the Bremen region.
State Councilor Karolina Kumar of the Senator for the Environment, Climate, and Science emphasized the sociopolitical relevance of data and data literacy:
“Democracy needs valid data. Data literacy is a foundation for evidence-based policymaking and thus for creating value for society. Northwestern Germany demonstrates how close cooperation between academia, public administration, and business can create high-performing and trustworthy data spaces.”
Prof. Dr. Michal Kucera, Vice President for Research and Transfer at the University of Bremen, highlighted the “Data Train” training program in the context of acquiring data competencies. The program equips early-career researchers and students with fundamental skills in research data management and data science.
Christina Beckers, Team Leader Information Infrastructures, Research Information System team in the Department for Research and Transfer at Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, emphasized the growing complexity of research infrastructures and the need to make them sustainable. At the same time, legal frameworks are changing. Data literacy and data sovereignty are key elements of Oldenburg’s strategy, supported by repositories, Open Science, and a center for AI and data science methods. In light of these shared challenges, close cooperation between Bremen and Oldenburg is particularly important.
The Data Champion Award 2026, endowed with €1,500, goes to researchers Dr. Anne Speer, Charlotte Brandhorst — both from the University of Bremen / Research Institute Social Cohesion (RISC) — and Leonie Wolfrath from the University of Mannheim. With the award, the interdisciplinary Data Competence Center DataNord is recognizing their data project on the RISC milieu typology, which was developed at the RISC at the University of Bremen.
The northwest region has built a high-performing research data ecosystem, which is presented in a two-part overview graphic. The goal of this project is to provide a tangible overview of the region’s research data initiatives and to foster cross-site networking. Together, the region’s data initiatives are creating reliable structures for sustainable research data management, secure data access, and cross-institutional collaboration in accordance with the FAIR principles.
In his keynote, “Keeping People at the Center: Requirements for Successful AI Integration,” Prof. Dr. Dennis-Kenji Kipker, Professor of IT Security Law at Bremen University of Applied Sciences as well as Academic Director and Founder of the cyberintelligence.institute, emphasized the role of people in the interaction with AI:
“Artificial intelligence is not a new colleague, but a tool. It can accelerate and support processes, but responsibility and assessment remain with people. What matters is that we use AI deliberately, transparently, and with clear rules.”
In her keynote, “Research Infrastructures for and with AI,” Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrike Lucke focused on the infrastructural perspective. 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, she emphasized that high-performance and networked structures are a key prerequisite for the successful use of AI:
“High-performance data infrastructures are the prerequisite for the effective use of artificial intelligence in research. However, these structures cannot be built in isolation. Only close cooperation across the research landscape can create shared architectures that enable data exchange and generate genuine progress.”
Across all contributions, it became evident that future-ready research in the digital age can only succeed through collaboration. Data Space Northwest, DataNord, and the U Bremen Research Alliance stand for a cooperative approach that moves beyond individual solutions. Building data competencies is essential in order 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—for example, with regard to data sovereignty, storage locations, and the responsible handling of sensitive information.
Further impressions from the evening event
- Joint Press Release
with the Senator for the Environment, Climate, and Science on Research Data Day 2026, published on April 17, 2026.
- Interactive map of the Northwest Data Space
The Northwest region has established a robust research data hub, which is illustrated in the two-part overview graphic below.
- These are the Data Champions of 2026
The Data Champion Award 2026 goes to Dr. Anne Speer and Charlotte Brandhorst, both from the University of Bremen / Research Institute Social Cohesion, as well as Leonie Wolfrath from the University of Mannheim.
Cooperating in U Bremen Research Alliance:
