National Research Data Infrastructure for Engineering Sciences (NFDI4Ing)

NFDI4Ing is a consortium within the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI).

It was founded in 2017 and is in close contact with researchers from every engineering discipline. Leading engineering scientists work together with experienced infrastructure providers. As the first important step, NFDI4Ing structured the diversity of specific needs in research data management. It established a broad consensus on typical methods and workflows: the archetypes. There are currently seven archetypes that represent the methodological needs:

• ALEX: tailor-made experiments with a high level of variability
• BETTY: research software by engineers
• CADEN: tracking of samples & data processing steps
• DORIS: high-performance measurements & calculations
• ELLEN: interaction with heterogeneous data sources & identification of new sources
• FRANK: many simultaneously involved participants & devices
• GOLO: field data & distributed systems

NFDI4Ing continues to expand its activities, and has set up five community clusters for this purpose. An overarching workspace will provide seven basic services both for the community clusters and for the archetypes:

• Quality assurance & metrics
• Research software development
• Terminologies & metadata
• Repositories & storage
• Data security & sovereignty
• Training & further education
• Data & insight extraction

The archetype approach makes NFDI4Ing's work programme modular and distinctly method-orientated. The community clusters and basic services also ensure that it remains researcher-centred and highly integrated. Eleven applicant institutions and more than 50 participating institutions have committed to carrying out the work programme. NFDI4Ing relies on a strong network to other NFDI consortia.

ULB is collaborating with NFDI4Ing primarily in these 3 measures:

• Quality assurance & metrics,
• Terminologies & metadata,
• Data & insight extraction.

In addition, half of the NFDI4Ing management office has been located at the ULB Darmstadt since 2023.

More information on NFDI4Ing

The partners of the NFDI consortium NFDI4Ing are funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as part of the federal-state agreement on the establishment and funding of the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) of 26 November 2018. To coordinate the activities, the partners of NFDI4Ing participate, as far as possible, as members of the National Research Data Infrastructure Association (NFDI) and participate in the various organs and other structures of the association in compliance with the statutes.