HMC Projects

HMC Projects: Driving Innovation through Collaboration

Turning ideas into impact. HMC projects bring together interdisciplinary teams to develop innovative solutions for metadata, FAIR data, and research data infrastructure across Helmholtz.

HMC projects are at the heart of innovation within the Helmholtz Metadata Collaboration. They bring together interdisciplinary teams across Helmholtz Centres to develop practical solutions for metadata, research data management, and digital infrastructures.

Funded projects address real-world challenges in data documentation, enrichment, and interoperability, contributing to the implementation of FAIR data principles and strengthening the Helmholtz data ecosystem.


Project calls as a driver of innovation

The annual HMC Project Call is the central instrument for initiating these projects. It supports interdisciplinary, cross-centre collaborations that are closely aligned with the HMC vision and its operational units (HMC Hubs).

Each year, selected projects receive funding of up to €400,000 (with co-funding from participating centres), contributing to a total annual investment of around €1.2 million through the Helmholtz Initiative and Networking Fund.


From idea to sustainable impact

HMC supports funded projects throughout their lifecycle:

  • facilitating networking and collaboration

  • providing guidance on scope, implementation, and scalability

  • ensuring alignment with HMC standards and infrastructure

This close collaboration ensures that project outcomes are not isolated results, but are sustainably integrated into the HMC portfolio and the broader Helmholtz community.

Explore our funded projects and learn more about current and past HMC Project Calls: www.helmholtz-metadaten.de/inf-projects

Join our Mattermost Group "HMC Public" to find partners for the next HMC Project Call.

News

13.04.2026

HMC Project Call 2026 is now open

The HMC Project Call 2026 is now open. Apply for funding to develop innovative, interdisciplinary projects advancing metadata and FAIR research data.
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23.03.2026

Funding of 7 new HMC projects confirmed

Successful Completion of HMC’s 6th Project Call from 2025
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27.01.2026

HMC Project Kick-Off: MIRO-LLMs

The MIRO-LLMs project officially launched with a kickoff meeting in January 2026
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Events

12.05.2026 | 10:00 - 13:00 CEST

HMC Project Call 2026 Info Event

Join the HMC Project Call 2026 information event to learn about funding, connect with partners, and refine your idea.
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03.06.2026 | 10:00 - 13:00 CEST

HMC Project Call 2026 Info Event

Join the HMC Project Call 2026 information event to learn about funding, connect with partners, and refine your idea.
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13.02.2026 | 10:00 - 11:00 CET

ELN-driven Interoperability for Metadata

In this FAIR Friday session, the HMC project ELN-DIY-Meta presents ELNdataBridge, a solution for interoperable metadata exchange between discipline-sp …
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