HMC Conference 2025: …because context matters

The first in-person Helmholtz Metadata Collaboration conference

From May 12 to 14, 2025, the HMC Conference was held in Cologne – for the first time as an in-person event, marking a major milestone for the Helmholtz Metadata Collaboration. Under the motto “...because context matters,” nearly 160 participants from 48 institutions came together to engage in deep discussions about the value and future development of metadata in research. A total of 29 talks, 26 posters, 10 demos, and 6 booths were presented – reflecting the impressive diversity and relevance of the topic.

The conference began with a diverse workshop program in the morning, offering hands-on insights into current developments surrounding the FAIR principles, semantic vocabularies, data infrastructures, and innovative tools. Topics ranged from interoperable environmental time series and semantic annotation to collaborative dashboard development and the advancement of domain-specific metadata schemas.

The official opening in the afternoon featured welcome addresses by Sören Lorenz, spokesperson of HMC, and Tanja Friedrich (DLR). A video message from Helmholtz President Otmar D. Wiestler emphasized the strategic importance of metadata for the future of research. The opening keynote by Simon Hodson, Executive Director of CODATA, offered a thought-provoking reflection on the core of the FAIR principles and their role in an increasingly data-driven science. The first day concluded with informal networking at the Deutzer Brauhaus – a successful start, both in terms of content and community building.

The second day of the conference began with a keynote by Till Korten (HZDR), who powerfully highlighted how careful data management lays the foundation for efficient machine learning. His central message: “The first potential collaborator is your future self.” Throughout the day, technical, structural, and community-driven approaches to metadata management took center stage. The talks and discussions demonstrated how modern data infrastructures increasingly rely on well-designed metadata architectures, standardized interfaces, and collaborative development – all essential to enabling cross-disciplinary research on a stable and sustainable basis.
A major highlight was the poster session, which drew great interest and sparked lively, productive exchanges on ongoing projects and ideas. Meanwhile, the booth area featured the HMC booth together with our sister platforms from the Helmholtz Information and Data Science (HIDS) framework initiative – Helmholtz AI, Helmholtz Imaging, HIFIS and HIDA – as well as representatives from the NFDI. We were especially pleased with the valuable and engaging exchange with both our sister platforms and the NFDI community.
Another highlight of the day was the evening networking event: a joint boat cruise on the Rhine with perfect weather, a buffet, and inspiring conversations on deck – an ideal setting for deepening discussions and forming new connections.

The third and final day of the conference focused on FAIR metrics, societal dimensions, and the human factor in metadata management. In the closing keynote, Konrad Förstner (ZB MED) addressed the challenges and opportunities on the path toward open, trustworthy science. His clear message: “There is no Open Science – there is only science. Science must always be open.”

The HMC community left Cologne with new ideas, strengthened connections, and a renewed sense of shared purpose. The first in-person conference was not only an organizational success but also a strong signal of how deeply the topic of metadata is embedded in the research landscape – and how essential context is for the understanding and reuse of data.
We sincerely thank all participants, speakers, and contributors for their dedication – and we look forward to continuing our collaboration …because context matters.

All conference papers can be found in the Book of Abstracts. In addition, many contributions have also been published in our conference-community on Zenodo