A total of twelve projects have been awarded funding by NWO under the TDCC 2025 call. These projects cover a wide range of topics, such as developing a national digital ecosystem for FAIR fungal research and identifying the top 10 best solutions for the secure sharing of patient-generated health data. The University of Twente (UT) has been awarded funding for no fewer than two projects: one focusing on an open-source field data logger and another on skills for energy-efficient and large-scale scientific computing.
This call aimed to fund projects that help realise the digitalisation ambitions of the TDCCs and the communities they serve. The call was designed to be non-competitive and community-driven. The Thematic Digital Competence Centres are network organisations established in 2022 with funding from NWO. There are three TDCCs in the Netherlands: one for Life Sciences & Health (LSH), one for Natural and Engineering Sciences (NES), and one for Social Sciences & Humanities (SSH). Their ambitions are outlined in the TDCC roadmaps.
Fair field data logger: a community-designed, fair-by-design, universal platform for environmental iot data acquisition
TDCC-NES; Principal Investigator Dr F.J. Ellsässer (Faculty of ITC)
This project develops a universal, open-source field data logger designed to make field sensor data FAIR from the start. The platform supports both traditional and IoT-based data collection, generates standardised metadata through user-friendly configuration workflows, and is compatible with the most commonly used field sensors. A key feature of the system is a persistent identifier option that enables traceability of sensors and measurements from source to result, comparable to the role of a DOI in scientific publishing. Through an iterative, community-driven design process, the logger will be evaluated across a wide range of real-world applications and supported by comprehensive production manuals, technical documentation, training materials, and scientific publications. By combining open hardware, interoperable data practices, and accessible deployment workflows, the project advances reproducible, reusable, and interoperable field data collection for researchers, citizen scientists, and diverse disciplines within the natural and engineering sciences.
Eco-scale: building skills for large-scale and energy-efficient scientific computing in the nes
TDCC-NES; Principal Investigator Dr Ir. S. Girgin (Faculty of ITC)
ECO-SCALE promotes the use of large-scale computing infrastructures and strengthens skills in energy-efficient scientific computing through a community-driven approach. Central to the project is the establishment of a Community of Practice and Training Network, in which NES researchers and support staff can jointly explore and exchange best practices for large-scale computing and sustainable, energy-conscious research workflows. In addition, ECO-SCALE will develop a freely accessible knowledge base containing guidelines, documentation, and training materials, complemented by targeted educational programmes tailored to stakeholders with diverse backgrounds. Finally, the project will share experiences, insights, and lessons learned with relevant national and international communities.
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