The EOSC EU Node participated in the EOSC Winter School 2026, held in Nice, France (27-29 January 2026). This key community event focused on advancing practical convergence towards the EOSC Federation. The third edition of the Winter School was organised by the EOSC Association (EOSC-A) with support from the EOSC Gravity project. It was co-located with a closed meeting of the EOSC Federation Build-up Group (26-27 January 2026), whose outcomes helped shape the Winter School discussions.
Stakeholder Brokerage Event: Practical discussions on onboarding and Node creation
On 27 January, the EOSC EU Node participated in the EOSC Stakeholder Brokerage Event. This matchmaking format was designed to connect resource and service providers, as well as other stakeholders, with EOSC Nodes and the broader development process.
During the Brokerage Event, the EOSC EU Node held a series of targeted meetings with a diverse range of stakeholders, including:
- Future candidate nodes exploring the steps, expectations, and organisational readiness required to establish a node;
- Projects and resource providers seeking guidance on how to onboard resources, including services, and align them with EOSC Federation requirements; and
- Technical and community actors looking for practical entry points into collaboration, both for immediate onboarding.
These exchanges reaffirmed a consistent message from the community: stakeholders want clarity on “what it takes” in terms of processes, policy alignment, and operational capabilities to move from interest to successful participation in the Federation.
Thematic Track on Competences and Training: What skills are needed to build and operate Nodes
On 28–29 January, the EOSC EU Node contributed to the Winter School’s thematic programme, specifically the Competences and Training track, which explored how EOSC stakeholders can build the skills needed to support the Federation’s growth.
In the session “The EOSC Node Build-up process and the skills required for successful enrolment and onboarding”, Maja Dolinar (OpenAIRE AMKE) presented the EOSC EU Node perspective alongside peer experiences from the Polish National Node and the Digital Twin of the Ocean thematic node. The discussion focused on:
- The most significant challenges in building a node and onboarding resources into the Federation;
- The skills and competences that distinguish early exploration from successful execution; and
- The types of structured support that could help stakeholders progress more quickly, with fewer avoidable errors and duplications.
From the EOSC EU Node perspective, the discussion highlighted that node development is not solely a technical task: it requires coordinated competence across governance and operations, interoperability and AAI readiness, service lifecycle management, and policy and compliance alignment. All of this must be anchored in a shared understanding of the Federation’s objectives and expectations.
Advancing the EOSC Federation through skills and collaboration
The EOSC Winter School 2026 clearly confirmed that the EOSC Federation has become the central reference point for INFRAEOSC projects and the wider EOSC community, and that skills development is a critical, practical enabler of the growth of the Federation rather than a peripheral activity. For the EOSC EU Node, participation in Nice provided a valuable opportunity to engage directly with stakeholders, gain first-hand insight into their needs and readiness gaps, share concrete approaches and resources already in place, and actively contribute to shaping future training support that will enable more organisations to enrol, onboard, and collaborate successfully within the EOSC Federation.
