Come2Data - National Data Competence Center with a focus on Saxony

Come2Data is one of eleven national data competence centers currently being established in Germany. It pursues a regional approach, focusing on the federal state of Saxony, as well as an interdisciplinary approach to provide practice-oriented data skills. Come2Data’s services are primarily directed towards the scientific community, but can also support the administrative sector, the interested public and business communities, in the long run. The aim is to consolidate the diverse local, regional and national activities that exist in Saxony and synergistically combine them into a sustainable source for data literacy development. This will be based on a comprehensive range of training and support services in the areas of data management, data integration, data analysis and data publication. Come2Data bundles existing data science training and support services from the four institutions directly involved in the project implementation of the consortium, as well as collecting expertise and commitment to research data management from a wider network, e.g. in SaxFDM (an initiative of Saxonian research and higher education institutions to cooperate and coordinate activities surrounding research data management), and the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI). Both dimensions are complemented by high-performance computing and analysis methods for data-intensive interdisciplinary research applications, such as artificial intelligence and data modeling provided by the national AI Competence Centers (e.g. via ScADS.AI). 

In addition, Come2Data runs four pilot projects which serve both as a source of concrete data expertise and of actual service demands emerging from the (daily) work on data-intensive, real-world example use cases.

The consolidated range of training, support and knowledge will be made available to researchers, teachers and students via a virtual platform with a high public profile. Come2Data will act as a place of learning and support as well as a place for research and networking.

As an open place of learning, Come2Data will consolidate existing courses on data skills, process them didactically for different target groups and make them available centrally as a series of modules and certification programs. This will also integrate findings and solutions from the research laboratories, where complex data and teaching problems will be addressed by a Saxon data expert pool as part of the aforementioned pilot projects.

A sustainable support center will be created around the research and learning facilities, which will provide extensive level 1 support in the form of a helpdesk using a knowledge base and specific level 2 support through the connection of clients with specialists who have a specific skill set or expertise. As an open networking location, these services will be available to a broad target group. In addition, Come2Data creates a space in which solutions for real data and teaching problems can be provided by tested local, regional and national experts via a free exchange of information, and where these solutions will be presented in a didactic manner.

As an overarching goal Come2Data will contribute to the implementation of a German-wide network of data competence centers, NFDI consortia, RDM service providers and other initiatives subserving data support. To this end, a common knowledge base is planned, as well as a network-wide crosslinked helpdesk system.

Data stewards could benefit from Come2Data services in various ways. Data stewards would be able to find practical solutions for complex data challenges in the knowledge base and access the expert advice via the helpdesk. The integration of diverse educational content and expertise would provide data stewards an environment of continuous learning and professional development. Through collaboration and networking opportunities provided by Come2Data, data stewards can also exchange best practices and innovative approaches, further enriching their capacity to support data-driven initiatives within their organizations.