#HMCConference2026 comes to a close in Heidelberg
Over the past days, discussions highlighted how metadata is becoming central to research – from interoperability and infrastructures to human–machine collaboration.
The final keynote showed how metadata enables large-scale genomic research, reinforcing its role as a foundation for modern science.
It was great to see the exchange, discussions & connections across the community.
This is what Metadata in Action looks like.
🎉 #HMCConference2026 has officially come to a close
The final session included the awards for best demo and best poster:
🏆 Demo: Maxime Gorres (FZJ)
🏆 Poster: Paolo Graniero (HZB)
Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all contributors for a strong and engaging programme.
The final session of #HMCConference2026 focuses on human–machine collaboration in metadata acquisition
The talks show how automation, robotics, and semantic tools are shaping how data and metadata are created and managed in practice.
Discussions also highlighted how many projects share similar challenges and successes – making it valuable to bring these perspectives together.
One memorable moment: “The robots are much better than the humans.”
Day 3 of #HMCConference2026 opened with a keynote by @OliverStegle on how metadata powers large-scale genomic research.
His talk highlighted how interoperable, well-structured metadata enables data integration, reproducibility, and analysis at scale.
A key message: metadata is not just supportive – it is foundational.
Discussions also touched on challenges such as metadata anonymity, evolving data/metadata boundaries, and the importance of versioning and standards.
The day continued with poster sessions, discussions, and the evening social event on the Neckar River, creating many opportunities for exchange and new connections.
It is great to see how the community continues to engage with these topics from different angles and build connections along the way.
Looking forward to the final day of the conference.
🚀 Day 2 at #HMCConference2026 in Heidelberg
The sessions explored how these different layers need to come together in practice to enable meaningful integration and reuse of research data.
The keynote on RDF knowledge graphs added an important perspective on connecting data and enabling new approaches.
The day continued with poster sessions, discussions, and the evening social event on the Neckar River.
A great mix of insights and community — looking forward to the final day.
🌊 Day 2 of #HMCConference2026 is coming to a close on the Neckar River
After a full day of sessions and discussions, the social event offers a chance to continue conversations in a more informal setting.
It’s great to see how the exchange continues beyond the sessions and brings people together across disciplines.
🎯 Day 2 of #HMCConference2026 continues
Today’s sessions show how interoperability is a multi-layered challenge across systems, metadata, and workflows.
A talk on “Local Semantics with Global Meaning” sparked lively discussions on how local ontology approaches can scale, with conversations continuing well beyond the session.
Another highlight was the @nfdi4health metadata schema, where multiple standards are mapped together to enable interoperability in health research.
🌅 Day 2 of #HMCConference2026 has started
After a morning run along the Neckar, the first session is underway: Software Interoperability for (Meta)data Acquisition
The focus today is on how systems, metadata, and tools can work together in practice — a key challenge for FAIR data.
Looking forward to another day of discussions and insights.
🚀 Day 1 of #HMCConference2026
Day 1 in Heidelberg brought together workshops, opening, keynote, and interactive poster sessions — all showing how metadata is actively shaping research in practice.
A key message throughout the day: making FAIR data work requires cultural change, not just technical solutions.
Discussions also highlighted how interoperability has many layers — from metadata to data itself — each adding complexity and opportunity.
Looking forward to the next days!
Helmholtz Metadata Collab.