New EOSC Core Services At the heart of the EOSC Beyond project lies the development...
Updated 25/03/2025
Highlights from Kraków: Building the Network of EOSC Pilot Nodes
EOSC Beyond Workshop
The EOSC Beyond project marked another milestone with the successful conclusion of the “Building the Network of EOSC Pilot Nodes” workshop, our second one dedicated to the evolution of Pilot EOSC Nodes. Hosted by CYFRONET in Kraków from 11-13 March 2025, this meeting brought together technical experts, node representatives, and stakeholders to advance interoperability, federated resource integration, and scalable collaboration across the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).
Workshop Focus and Goals
Organised as part of Work Package 15 (WP15), the workshop focused on the following key objectives:
- Analysing pilot use cases to address challenges related to interoperability and composability.
- Developing a proof of concept for integrating distributed resources into a unified environment.
- Refining federated discovery mechanisms to improve user engagement across EOSC.
- Creating a roadmap for the implementation of key user stories.
The event built on the foundational work of the June 2024 workshop, deepening technical alignment and accelerating progress toward a functional federation of Pilot Nodes.
“Hosting this workshop was both a privilege and a challenge. Over three full days, we focused on planning technical integrations, collaborating in groups on various use case types, and consolidating our work into documentation for future reference. The collaborative spirit and technical rigour shown by all participants highlight CYFRONET’s strong commitment to advancing the EOSC vision. I’d like to express my sincere appreciation to everyone who took part, as well as to the entire CYFRONET team, for their genuine effort and dedication.” — Roksana Wilk, Head of the Data Processing Laboratory, CYFRONET
Background and Preliminary Work
Following the inaugural workshop in June 2024, preparatory meetings were held with stakeholders from EOSC Beyond pilot nodes such as CESSDA, CNB-CSIC, Instruct ERIC, LifeWatch, ENES, NI4OS, E-INFRA CZ, MetroFood-RI, and NFDI. These sessions identified critical technical gaps and set the stage for the March 2025 workshop’s hands-on focus on integration standards and implementation roadmaps.
Workshop Highlights
- Day 1: Pilots in Focus The first day of the workshop focused on presenting the Pilots' user stories, integrating them with sandbox core services, aligning exchanged services offered and consumed across nodes, and assigning each pilot a technical expert to support and implement their technical plan. A key outcome was the alignment of node-specific requirements with the broader EOSC Core services framework.
- Day 2: Collaborative Integration Sessions Advancing integration planning through structured discussions on node-to-node exchange services, bilateral meetings to explore Pilots’ potential use of the exchange in realising their use cases, core service presentations, and one-on-one sessions to align technical requirements and update integration plans. One key outcome was an updated integration matrix to guide future workflows.
- Day 3: Roadmapping & Review Preparation The final day consolidated technical milestones into actionable roadmaps. Teams outlined steps for delivering a proof of concept by mid-2025 and prepared demos for the upcoming EOSC Beyond project review.
The path ahead
The workshop solidified a shared technical vision for a Network of Pilot Nodes, now positioned to operationalise integrated services. Outcomes will feed into the EOSC Beyond mid-term review and inform the development of the EU Node’s Horizontal Services.
“The workshop was a key moment to concretely translate the user stories of the Pilot Nodes into operational services for the future EOSC Federation. The work on federated access and resource composability outlines a clear trajectory for the next phase of EOSC development.” — Nicola Fiore, EOSC Beyond Technical Coordinator, EGI Foundation
Keep an eye on the upcoming EGI2025 on 2-6 June in Santander, Spain, an important public event where you can learn more about EOSC Beyond’s advancements and Pilots. For updates on the EOSC Beyond project and future workshops, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn and Bluesky.
