GREAT actively participated in the EGI 2023 conference held in Poznań, Poland, from June 19th to June 23rd. This annual event gathered international scientific communities, computing and service providers, European projects, security experts, and policymakers to advance research and innovation in data-intensive processing and analytics. 
The presence of the GREAT project at EGI 2023 marked a continuation of our collaboration with EGI, a partnership that began last year with the project’s Kick-off Meeting at the EGI 2022 conference. EGI plays a crucial role as the Technical Coordinator in the project, and this conference served as a key platform for us to engage with stakeholders, share our vision, and align our efforts. Building on this partnership, EGI 2023 offered us a unique opportunity to showcase our contributions, foster collaborations, and dive deeper into the world of data spaces.
At the conference, GREAT made significant contributions through two key activities:
Booth presence
GREAT hosted an engaging booth at the conference, serving as a hub for networking and information exchange. It gave attendees insights into the project’s technical architecture, roadmap for implementation, and project activities, fostering collaborations and knowledge sharing.
Attendees had a chance to chat with GREAT representatives from the above-mentioned EGI, but also partners from IDC, the coordinator of GREAT, EODC, leading the WP on Priority Data sets and CESNET.
Data Spaces related sessions
Overview of the GREAT project sessions at the EGI Conference 2023
- Data Spaces 101
- Vision, Business Model, and Sustainability
- Dataspaces and AI/ML Services in Agriculture
- Emerging Architectural Directions
- Making Space for Data
- Data Spaces Governance Consultation
GREAT organised several sessions focused on data spaces, shedding light on their significance, technical and governance aspects and discussing their future evolution. One of these sessions, “Data Spaces 101,” aimed to demystify the concept of data spaces and discuss critical developments comprehensibly, mentioning GREAT as an example of a significant data space initiative. The technical coordinator of the project led the session, Mark Dietrich from the EGI Foundation.
In the second session, “Vision, Business Model, and Sustainability,” experts from prominent European data projects, including GREAT, came together to explore the governance and sustainability of major data initiatives in Europe in the digital age. They addressed critical aspects like data privacy, interoperability, and business models. This session facilitated knowledge sharing and collaboration among stakeholders. The pool of experts included Ignacio Blanquer (representing the EOSC Association, Daniel Alonso (representing DSSC), Barry O Sullivan (representing UCC, AI4Europe), and Sebastien Picardat (representing Agricultural DS).
“Dataspaces and AI/ML Services in Agriculture,” focused on the significance and integration of agriculture dataspaces with AI/ML projects. Ongoing initiatives related to agriculture dataspaces were presented, showcasing their real-world applications. This session welcomed the following speakers: Marcin Plociennik(PSNC; representing ICOS RI and AI4EOSC project), Raul Palma (PSNC; representing AgriDataSpace project), Maciej Zacharczuk (WODR, representing eDWIN and Datamite project), Łukasz Łowiński (PIT, representing AgriFoodTEF project), and Tomasz Wojciechowski (PULS, representing PRAGMATIC project).
The session focusing on “Emerging Architectural Directions,” explored innovative architectural directions in federated digital infrastructures. Experts discussed key architectural families, potential areas of alignment, challenges, and deployment models to drive convergence and standardisation. This session, moderated by Mark Dietrich and Marta Gutierrez, welcomed Daniel Alonso (BDVA), Rigo Wenning (W3C), Pierre Gronlier (GAIA-X), Hugo Gonzalez Labrador & Giuseppe Lo Presti (CERN), and finally, Diego Scardaci (EGI).
The keynote session “Making Space for Data,” highlighted the fundamental role of data in research and its emergence as a business tool. Experts discussed bridging the gap between research and industry data, emphasising data transactions based on governance frameworks. This session welcomed keynote talks from Jurry dela Marr from T-Systems, presenting Copernicus Data Space, and Daniel Alonso from DSSC, BDVA, followed by a panel discussion together with Valentine Charles (representing The common European data space for cultural heritage), Gianluca Lipari (Int.net, representing Energy DataSpace EPRI), and Sebastien Picardat (from AgriDataSpace).
In “Data Spaces Governance Consultation,” GREAT actively participated in discussions regarding the governance of data spaces. The project’s role in defining the Green Deal Data Space governance framework was presented, emphasising co-design with the community and validation processes. The session also explored challenges and solutions in data monetisation. The session was led by Marta Gutierrez (EGI, representing GREAT project) and Paolo Calciati (ITI , representing DataMite).
These contributions at EGI 2023 not only enhanced awareness about GREAT but also facilitated networking opportunities and information exchange. EGI 2023 has been a remarkable event for GREAT, enabling us to share our vision, collaborate with experts, and dive deep into the realm of data spaces. The connections we forged at this conference are invaluable as we continue to drive progress in data-intensive processing and analytics.
We want to thank Marta Gutierrez and Mark Dietrich from the EGI Foundation for organising these sessions and helping the GREAT project move forward.