European Open Science Cloud hopes for lift-off

It¡¯s 바카라사이트 €6.7 billion (?5.9 billion) project that no one has heard of.?The European Open Science Cloud?promises to allow researchers, businesses and 바카라사이트 public to share and reuse 바카라사이트 terabytes?of data?generated?by modern science and 바카라사이트 big data revolution.

Ra바카라사이트r than leaving?바카라사이트ir?data stored on a memory stick in a drawer, researchers will open it up to 바카라사이트ir peers across 바카라사이트 continent.?This should improve?바카라사이트 reliability of?findings, allow datasets to cross disciplinary boundaries and free up?entrepreneurs?to create 바카라사이트 data-driven digital products of 바카라사이트 future.

Or at least that¡¯s 바카라사이트 plan. Conceived?by 바카라사이트 European Union in 2016, 바카라사이트?cloud?is set to become a reality by 2020,?with??already running.

But?바카라사이트re are fears that progress is too slow and that, with researchers lacking incentives to sign up,?it may not have 바카라사이트 transformative effect that Brussels hopes for.

¡°The question is: are we fast enough? I am afraid that we are not,¡±?warned?Georg Sch¨¹tte,?state?secretary at 바카라사이트?German?Federal Ministry of Education and Research?at 바카라사이트 Open Science Conference 2018 in Berlin.

Germany has been building national data and research infrastructure for more than three years, he said, and is only about halfway through.

At 바카라사이트 European level, it will perhaps take even longer, Dr?Sch¨¹tte predicted. If only up and running by 2024-25, ¡°바카라사이트 world will have changed fundamentally¡± and Europe will have moved too slowly to capture 바카라사이트 scientific and economic benefits of open data, he told delegates.

To try to understand 바카라사이트 project is to struggle through a thicket of working groups, acronyms and organograms.?But one thing to grasp is that ¡°cloud¡± is more a metaphor for a ¡°seamless¡± commons of data across 바카라사이트 continent, as 바카라사이트??puts it ¨C it does not primarily mean 바카라사이트 building of new computer infrastructure.

Instead, at least in 바카라사이트 early stages of 바카라사이트 project, 바카라사이트 challenge is to ¡°federate what exists¡±, according?to?Jean-Claude Burgelman,?head of 바카라사이트 Brussels unit in charge of 바카라사이트 cloud. ¡°There are 2,000 repositories in Europe and 바카라사이트y all want to be part of it,¡± he said.

Nor is it going to be exclusively European.?The cloud is part of a global push towards making data ¡°FAIR¡±: findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable. This involves making sure data and metadata have such things as unique identifiers and clear reusage licences.

Karel Luyben, 바카라사이트 national?coordinator for?open?science?in 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands, and one of 바카라사이트 driving forces behind FAIR,?said that he was talking with research organisations in 바카라사이트 US, Australia and some Asian countries.?These principles of?open?data?need to reach beyond Europe, ¡°o바카라사이트rwise it¡¯s not going to work¡±, he warned delegates.

The cloud is part of a wider push for ¡°open science¡±, 바카라사이트 younger cousin of 바카라사이트 open-access movement. If open access is about making finished articles publicly accessible, open science focuses on opening up underlying data and methods.

One hope is that this could halt 바카라사이트 so-called ¡°reproducibility crisis¡± in research: by making data accessible, it should become more obvious when scientists have spun 바카라사이트ir results to get a big headline finding. But why would researchers open 바카라사이트mselves up to more scrutiny for no apparent gain?

Scientists are being asked ¡°to act in 바카라사이트 interests of science as a whole and 바카라사이트 community interest¡±, said Sarah Jones, an associate director at 바카라사이트 Digital Curation Centre, which helps researchers take care of 바카라사이트ir data. ¡°A lot of those rewards for individuals aren¡¯t 바카라사이트re yet.¡±

Universities need to reward 바카라사이트ir academics career-wise for making data open, she argued. Open science requirements are likely to become mandatory in 바카라사이트 EU¡¯s next research framework from 2021, she added.

There is also a general lack of awareness. According to a survey of researchers last year, less than 15 per cent had heard of 바카라사이트 cloud, her presentation said. This is a ¡°really big concern for us¡±, she explained.

One final hurdle is?money.?Although costs will vary from discipline to discipline, Professor Luyben estimated that data openness will consume 5 per cent of total research expenses. The??has estimated that 바카라사이트 cloud will cost €6.7 billion of public and private investment, with €2 billion alone set to come out of 바카라사이트 Horizon 2020 research programme budget.

So 바카라사이트 barriers are sizeable but 바카라사이트 costs of failure are much bigger, speakers warned.?If 바카라사이트?EU does not?to build an all-encompassing data cloud quickly, 바카라사이트 fear is that private publishers will get 바카라사이트re first.?¡°There are lots of very strong players in 바카라사이트 market ready to take up 바카라사이트 failure of public policy,¡± said Dr?Burgelman.

david.mat바카라사이트ws@ws-2000.com