The first Data Competence College was hosted from March 27th to 28th, 2025 at the IT center of RWTH Aachen. Based on the concept of the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin or the Institute of Advanced Studies in Princeton, we invited two individuals with high data competence from different scientific fields (“Data Experts”) to participate as part of the data competence college: Prof. Sebastian Houben (Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, specialist in AI and autonomous systems) Dr. Moritz Wolter (University of Bonn, expert in high performance computing and machine learning) For two days we aimed to create a space where not only local scientists, and especially early career researchers, learn from the data experts and each other regarding research data and methods but also data experts could inspire each other. The schedule included keynote presentations by all data experts, poster and group presentations by the participants, 1:1 sessions between data experts and early career researchers, as well as a method- and data-related workshop. We aimed foremost to create an environment in which everyone feels safe to give input, share their knowledge and learn from the other participants and experts.

This publication has been made possible through the DKZ.2R "Datenkompetenzkolleg Rhein-Ruhr" (16DKZ2030.) by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space financed by the European Union programme "NextGenerationEU".