TPM contributes to next generation Virtual Research Environments for 70.000 researchers
The TU Delft Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management (TPM) contributes to a new EC project VRE4EIC, concerning research into digital environments in which scientists can conduct multidisciplinary research. The project is a research investment of 4,37m€ to enhance Virtual Research Environments (VRE) aimed at (4) Empowering multi-disciplinary research communities and accelerate Innovation and Collaboration (EIC).
Together with the coordinating organization ERCIM, 7 European organisations are joining forces: European research teams (CWI, TU Delft, CNR, FORTH) together with international organisations (EuroCRIS and W3C) and active e-Research infrastructures (ENVRIplus, represented by University of Amsterdam and EPOS, represented by INGV). Their objective is to build a VRE reference architecture and building blocks of an enhanced VRE (so-called e-VRE, the software outcome of the project).
According to Keith Jeffery (ERCIM), the scientific coordinator of VRE4EIC, “The project envisages eventually VREs interoperating among themselves using e-VRE while accessing e-Research Infrastructures (such as EPOS and 20 other environmental research infrastructures in ENVRIplus) which are themselves dependent on regional and national e-Infrastructures and European e-Infrastructures such as GEANT, EUDAT, EGI”.
Objectives
VRE4EIC intends to change the life of 70.000 European researchers, by providing them supporting tools for collaborative, multi-disciplinary data-driven science, as needed to tackle critical societal challenges such as climate change and energy sustainability.
The specific objectives of the project are:
- Increase the VRE usability for multi-disciplinary research;
- Increase the quality of VRE user experiences;
- Increase the deployment of VRE on different research infrastructures by abstracting and reusing building blocks and workflows;
- Improve the contextual awareness and interoperability of metadata;
- Promote exploitation and standardisation of e-VRE.
VRE4EIC project software outcome will be available under an open source software license for maximum uptake and community building.
About VRE4EIC
VRE4EIC is a 3-year Horizon 2020 research & innovation action (EINFRA-9-2015) coordinated by ERCIM and carried out with partners from The Netherlands (CWI, TU Delft, EuroCRIS and UvA), Italy (CNR and INGV) and Greece (FORTH). VRE4EIC stands for a Europe-wide interoperable Virtual Research Environment to Empower multidisciplinary research communities and accelerate Innovation and Collaboration. VRE4EIC has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 676247.
e-VRE designates the technology that will result from the VRE4EIC project.
More information
TU Delft contacts:
Marijn Janssen
Anneke Zuiderwijk
Yi Yin