5 June 2026, by Newsroom editorial office

Photo: AdobeStock/Miha Creative

At the University of Hamburg, the STARDAST project will focus on harmonizing certification systems for data stewards.

Universities and research institutions generate vast amounts of data not only in research and teaching but also in knowledge exchange. Trained specialists are needed to use, store, and make this data accessible online in an efficient manner. This is where a new project, in which the University of Hamburg Archives is participating, comes in. The EU is providing approximately eight million euros in funding for STARDAST.

The “Stewardship and Recognition for Data Science Talent” (STARDAST) project focuses on the concept of ensuring that data stewards in academia and related fields receive the best possible training. Their role is to handle collected data in a sustainable manner and to store and make it accessible in accordance with needs and legal requirements. In universities, this encompasses all areas, from undergraduate studies and research to collaboration with industry.

The project aims to develop a Europe-wide coordinated curriculum for training. On the one hand, awareness of data management is to be raised in all departments during undergraduate studies and in vocational training programs, and alongside other data standards, the so-called FAIR principles are to be taught: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. On the other hand, comprehensive continuing education and training programs for so-called data stewards—for example, in administration—will be developed. This is intended to strengthen the networking of the European research landscape in line with the open science approach and the European Open Science Cloud.

Standardizing certification systems

The European Commission is funding the project, which launches in September, with approximately eight million euros as part of its “Horizon Europe” research framework program. More than €150,000 will go to the University Archives of the University of Hamburg, which will participate in four of six work packages. “We are leading the sub-area that will focus on developing institutional guidelines for workplace design and the onboarding of new colleagues,” explains Francesco Gelati, STARDAST project coordinator at the University Archives.

The primary goal here is to harmonize the various certification systems for data stewards within the European framework in order to better identify and assess professional expertise. “One approach is the creation of data management profiles that provide information on roles, tasks, and skills and facilitate the best possible deployment of personnel in institutions and projects,” says Gelati. Since archiving is a crucial phase in the data lifecycle, the topic of data management is of great importance to the University Archives.

The interdisciplinary STARDAST project is being carried out under the leadership of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg and includes 19 participating universities, research institutes, companies, European research infrastructures, and international organizations from Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Finland, Turkey, Italy, France, the Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom.

(This content has been translated automatically.)