The design of data architectures has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent years. What was once a relatively standardised ETL (extract, transform, load) process linked to a central data warehouse has evolved into a diverse ecosystem of complex frameworks, including data lakehouses, data meshes, data fabrics, data virtualisation and cloud-native models, often deployed in combination.

These modern approaches have emerged to overcome the limitations of traditional systems, particularly when dealing with the challenges of today’s data landscape: vast data volumes, unstructured and multimodal formats, the growing need for real-time processing and demands for scalability and flexibility.

Beyond these technical evolutions, the increasing need to share data across organisations, sectors and borders – to fully unlock its value – has spurred the rise of data spaces, which modern architectures must now be designed to support and connect with. At the same time, the primary application of data is shifting from traditional analytics towards advanced artificial intelligence (AI) workflows, bringing a new set of requirements for data management and infrastructure design.

The BDVA workshop “Evolving data architectures for distributed, intensive, AI-driven applications” (as part of AG71)

Date: 22 October, from 10:00 – 13:00 CEST 

Full agenda :

Objectives of the Session

• Review the current landscape of big data architectures, from established models to cutting-edge approaches.
• Identify and analyse new trends shaping the design of modern data ecosystems.
• Discuss challenges and requirements these architectures must meet, particularly in relation to:

  • Managing massive, unstructured and multimodal data.

  • Supporting real-time and AI-driven workflows.

  • Enabling cross-organisation and cross-sector data sharing through data spaces.

  • Addressing broader issues such as interoperability, governance, standards, security and trust.

• Exchange insights and experiences among BDVA members to better understand adoption pathways, practical barriers and opportunities for collaboration.

This workshop fostered dialogue and collaboration among experts and stakeholders to ensure that Europe’s data architectures remain at the forefront of innovation, supporting trustworthy, interoperable and AI-ready data ecosystems.

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This is why OPENVERSE is organising a workshop on 24 April titled “National initiatives and the European Partnership on Virtual Worlds”, which serves as a platform for discussing how to bring together national-level projects with the European Partnership on Virtual Worlds, particularly through OPENVERSE, which aims to streamline investments and reduce fragmentation in EU research and innovation landscapes.

Register NOW!

The workshop’s primary objectives are to promote the visibility of European initiatives across member states, strengthen collaboration between national and European efforts and continue the momentum of fostering joint projects and cooperation in the Virtual Worlds space.

One of the key features of the event will be a presentation from the European Partnership on Virtual Worlds, which is working to align priorities and pool resources to drive innovation in this rapidly expanding field. Additionally, OPENVERSE will present a mapping of the current landscape of national Virtual Worlds initiatives, providing participants with an invaluable overview of ongoing efforts and projects across Europe.

By the end of the workshop, participants are expected to have gained important insights into the status of the European Partnership on Virtual Worlds and a clearer understanding of the national initiatives and collaborations shaping the future of Virtual Worlds. A critical outcome of the event will be the development of actionable steps that will help to grow the ecosystem of Virtual Worlds initiatives at a European level, as well as fostering stronger networks to encourage community building and innovation.

The workshop is targeted at a wide array of stakeholders involved in Virtual Worlds initiatives across Europe. This includes associations, NGOs, technology platforms and collaborative partnerships working on Virtual Worlds as a central theme or focus area. Participants will also include those running multi-country initiatives or skills development projects with international outreach, such as summer schools or European Digital Infrastructure Consortia.

The European Partnership on Virtual Worlds tackles Europe’s most pressing challenges through coordinated research and innovation. By aligning priorities and pooling resources, partnerships play a vital role in advancing the EU’s political objectives and promoting collaborative solutions to complex technological and societal issues.

As the EU continues to navigate the complexities of the digital future, the collaboration between national and European initiatives could become the key to unlocking the true potential of Virtual Worlds. Through strategic dialogue and continued partnership, Europe will lead the way in Virtual Worlds innovation, ensuring that its impact is felt across all industries, economies and societies.

About OPENVERSE

The vision of the OPENVERSE project is to create inclusive, open and ethically responsible European Virtual Worlds, enhancing the European Union’s technological sovereignty in the global arena. Its strategy involves integrating diverse technological expertise, fostering collaborative innovation, and ensuring interoperability, privacy, and security in digital environments. OPENVERSE aims to lay the foundational framework for these Virtual Worlds, combining user co-creation with extended reality technologies, addressing legal and ethical challenges, and guiding future policy and industry standards for globally influential Virtual Worlds.

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GraphSys’25 will be a full-day (in-person only) workshop, running a single track (i.e., no parallel sessions). They plan to feature one keynote, 6-10 paper presentations, 1-2 invited presentation(s) and one panel. Submissions of full papers (12 pages) are invited, as well as work-in-progress, experience and position papers (6 pages). Organisers will run a thorough revision process to select the papers featured in the proceedings.

When and where:

GraphSys’25 will be Co-located with EuroPar 2025 (August 25-26, 2025, Dresden, Germany)

Contributions and important deadlines:

• Paper Submission: submit a paper or disseminate the opportunity for paper submission within your community.
• Paper submission deadline: May 5, 2025
• Share proposals of key experts: for very good profiles related to the workshop topic, the committee will evaluate candidates for keynotes, invited presentations and participation in the panel. They could also enrich the Program Committee.

Submit your proposal here!

Call for Papers

Aligned with Euro-Par, the premier European conference addressing all facets of parallel and distributed processing, GraphSys’25 is the first Workshop on Serverless, Extreme-Scale and Sustainable Graph Processing Systems. GraphSys is a cross-disciplinary meeting venue focusing on state-of-the-art and emerging (future) graph processing systems.

The workshop is designed for researchers, practitioners and students interested in sustainable graph processing. Participants from academia, industry, (government) research labs and nonprofit organisations are encouraged to attend and contribute to the GraphSys discussions and collaborations.

Topics of interest for GraphSys’25 include:

· System architectures and system designs for graph creation, enrichment, graph query and graph analytics.

· Programming and data-level interfaces, APIs and models for graph processing.

· Benchmarks, performance monitoring, measurement techniques, methods, metrics, tools and instruments for graph processing.

· Sustainability metrics, tools and instruments for real-world, analytical and simulation-based approaches to performance analysis for graph processing systems.

· Parallel and distributed (including heterogeneous) algorithms and methods for graph processing.

· Serverless techniques, addressing graph processing challenges of full-automation software and data services with fine granularity and utilisation-based billing.

· Empirical case studies of graph processing environments, applications and systems, including comparative performance studies and benchmarking of real-world and production graph-processing systems.

· Methodological aspects of software engineering, performance engineering and computer systems related to graph processing.

All submissions are required in PDF format and must be sent via EasyChair.

Important dates: 

· May 5th, 2025         Paper submission deadline

· June 23rd, 2025      Paper acceptance notifications

· July  7th, 2025         Camera-ready due

Organisation:

· Jože Martin Rožanec, University of Twente, Netherlands / Jožef Stefan Institute, Slovenia

· Tiziano De Matteis, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Looking forward to your submission!

Contact Nuria De Lama for more information at: ndelama (at sign) idc (dot) com

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Other calls of interest that did not receive pitching requests have been compiled into a Mural, accessible to all BDVA members. This initiative aims to foster networking and facilitate consortium-building in the coming months. 

Organised in collaboration with members of the BDVA Task Force Healthcare, the event follows a bottom-up approach to identify the most relevant calls for the community. It will serve as a platform for discussions and partnerships on topics primarily linked to Horizon Europe’s Cluster 1, with additional opportunities from Cluster 4, the EU Mission: Cancer and the EIC Pathfinder. 

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Date and time: 5 March, from 10:00 to 12:00 CET 

Reasons to join 

If you are interested in understanding the latest developments in Data and AI technology, contributing content, or fostering collaborations with BDVA members and external partners, this meeting is tailored for you. The session will provide valuable insights into ongoing initiatives and future trends shaping the landscape of Data and AI. 

What’s on the Agenda? 

The BDVA Data and AI Tech Task Force recently conducted a poll to determine the most critical areas of focus for BDVA. Key topics emerging from this poll include: 

• Big Data Architectures 

• Distributed AI 

• AI Agents 

• Frugal AI 

• Human-Centric AI 

• Hybrid AI 

• Synthetic Data Generation 

• MLOps & DataOps 

• Pipeline Implementation 

• Product Deployment 

• Knowledge Graphs 

• Data & Knowledge Management 

• Data-Centric AI 

While BDVA continues to engage in various initiatives, this particular Task Force is fundamental in shaping the future of AI and Data-driven strategies. 

Collaboration & Next Steps 

During the meeting, the Task Force will discuss member contributions and host expert presentations on these key topics. There is still time for members to contribute with their insights! 

In addition to the overarching themes, members have identified additional relevant topics and potential combinations of these themes. The session will include pitches from various organisations, providing a comprehensive perspective on the evolving landscape. 

As a key outcome, BDVA will form expert teams and interested organisations to collaborate on these topics throughout the year, fostering innovation and deeper engagement in Data and AI technologies. 

Final Details 

The names of presenters will be added by 3 March. If you are passionate about Data and AI developments and want to be part of a collaborative and forward-thinking ecosystem, make sure to join this BDVA AG meeting! Interested in taking part? Connect with BDVA Secretariat at secretariat@bdva.eu!

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BDVA Secretary General Ana García Robles will join the “New Approaches towards Compliance for AI/Data Operations” event, organised by SINTEF, focused on the challenges and approaches for Compliance in a Data- and AI-driven world, set to take place in Forskningsparken – Oslo Science Park, Oslo, Norway, on 15 January.

The AI/Data-driven Economy is facing increasing challenges when it comes to compliance with ethical, regulatory, legal and organizational requirements. While establishing a legal framework for the development and roll-out of digital products and services, emerging legislative efforts like the AI Act and Data Act will make the regulatory landscape more complex. This calls for new technical approaches to dealing with and handling compliance in AI and Data Operations.

Sign up at this link!

Agenda

Session 1: The Landscape and Challenges 

• Keynote: Kimmo Rossi, Head of Sector, European Commission
• Keynote: Ana Garcia, Secretary General BDVA
• Keynote: Alexandra Schultz, Advisor, Digitaliseringsdirektoratet
• Christian Bendiksen (Bull Law Firm) – Laws and regulations – effect on businesses
• Natalie Bertels (KU Leuven) – Automated and data-driven approaches to address compliance challenges
• George Konstantinidis (University of Southampton) –  Technological Challenges and Opportunities of the DGA
• Panel Discussion

Lunch 

Session 2: Approaches, Technologies and Use Cases

• Dumitru Roman: Data and AI Pipelines for Compliance: The DataPact Project
• Audun Vennesland (City of Trondheim) – Public sector and Compliance
• Marko Grobelnik (Josef Stefan Institute, Ljbuljana and OECD): AI and Regulations
• Presentations of business bases from DataPact
• Panel Discussion

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