Apart from posters, the call for proposals has been closed. The call for posters has been reopened and will close at the end of June.

Research Data in Practice - What is the state-of-the-art?

The Swiss Research Data Support Network (SRDSN) invites open research data specialists, data stewards, research software engineers, and researchers who work with research data and develop research software to submit proposals for our upcoming conference. The conference with the title “Research Data in practice - what is the state-of-the-art?” aims to bridge the gap between local operational challenges and global strategic initiatives. 

We seek contributions that explore best practices for support services, the professionalization of data stewards and research software engineers, navigating the rise of artificial intelligence within data management, as well as the development of robust infrastructures that balance openness with security. 

Join us to discuss how we can collectively foster reproducible and responsible science through sustainable institutional commitment.

We invite submissions related to (but not limited to) the following areas:

1. Research data support in practice
2. Research Software
3. Research data professionals as data stewards, data managers, software engineers
4. Open Science & Open Research Data
5. FAIR data & quality
6. Research data infrastructures
7. Policies, compliance & funder requirements
8. Artificial Intelligence & Data-Intensive Research

Download the full Call for Proposals for more details.

Submission formats

We encourage a variety of formats—practical, interactive, and open to experience reports:

• Presentations  (10 min) - call closed
• Lightning Talks (3 min) - call closed
• Posters (A0 format) - call will reopen until 30 June 2026, 23:59
• Workshops (60–120 min): hands-on sessions, methods, training concepts, toolchains - call closed

How to submit 

Please submit an abstract via ConfTool [https://www.conftool.pro/rdc2026] including:

• Title
• Abstract (approx. 200–400 words; for workshops also include agenda, methods & learning objectives)
• Included in the abstract: Target audience (e.g. data stewards, research software engineers, infrastructure teams, researchers…)
• Optional: links to tool/repository/materials (if available)

Please select in your ConfTool submission also:

• 3–5 keywords
• Format (talk/lightning talk/poster/workshop)
• Please indicate who will present (not more than 2 presenters) 

Submission deadline:

Posters: Call for posters is open and will close on 30 of June.

All other calls are closed.

Registration will open in July. More information will follow soon.

Costs

Conference costs will be 150.-CHF. There is no early-bird fee.

We encourage you to use public transport to reach Bern and then the funicular to get to the conference venue on the Gurten.

• How to get to the Gurten?
• Swiss Railway (SBB) (Stopp: Wabern, Gurtenbahn)
• Funicular (Wabern, Gurtenbahn - Gurten, Kulm): The Funicular runs every 15'. Some Swiss public transport tickets are valid on the funicular. Please check this list. If you are staying overnight in Bern, the ticket for the funicular is included in your accommodation.

We have made a reservation of rooms in recommended hotels in Bern. Please do not contact any hotels directly, as the rooms provided directly are from a different room allotment. Instead use the link provided to make your reservation.

Book my accommodation now

Language

The conference language will be English. 

Open Access Policy

By submitting a proposal, you agree that your poster and/or presentation will be made available online on Zenodo under an open licence (CC BY 4.0 or CC BY-SA).

Code of Conduct

We are committed to a respectful and inclusive environment. The SRDSN’s Code of Conduct applies.