Insights from International Data Week 2025

International Data Week (IDW), held this year in Brisbane, Australia, from 13–16 October 2025, brought together 807 researchers, policymakers, industry leaders, and data experts from around the world to discuss the future of data-intensive science. The theme of IDW 2025 was Data for Positive Change: empowering communities and advancing research.

Held every two-years, the 2025 IDW edition focused on advancing trustworthy data ecosystems, interoperability across domains, and the societal impact of open data.

As part of our commitment to advancing open and FAIR data practices for biological and preclinical imaging, foundingGIDE actively participated in the event. We presented our work at the poster session, where we showcased the vision to lay the foundations of a Global Image Data Ecosystem. The poster generated meaningful discussions with participants from diverse domains, all interested in how imaging data can become a central, interoperable component of the broader research data ecosystem.

In addition, foundingGIDE was featured in one of the breakout sessions organized by the RDA Life Science Data Infrastructures Interest Group. The session, titled “Integrating and Sharing Multi-Modal Life Science Data,” explored emerging practices and standards for combining imaging, structural, genomic, and other life science data types. It highlighted early experiences from European efforts, bringing together services from ELIXIR, EMBL, Euro-BioImaging, and Instruct-ERIC, as part of a federated Life Science Research pilot node within the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).

The breakout session also connected these European initiatives with global initiatives such as foundingGIDE, aiming to identify common challenges and promising approaches that could inform broader data integration strategies across biomolecular disciplines. Discussions focused on practical pathways to interoperability, cross-domain data services, and the application of FAIR data principles in complex, multi-modal contexts.

International Data Week featured a vibrant exhibition area with numerous vendors showcasing cutting-edge tools and solutions for data management, sharing, and analysis. Having so many industry representatives on site created a lively atmosphere for spontaneous conversations and in-depth discussions.

One of the highlight moments of IDW was a panel discussion featuring Alfred J.P. Lin, Niklas Labba, and Marcia Langton, moderated by ARDC CEO Rosie Hicks. The panel discussion explored diverse viewpoints on the complexities of Indigenous data governance and the evolving strategies being developed to address them and how the CARE Principles (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics) are guiding current and emerging approaches in this space.

foundingGIDE’s participation throughout the week underscored its role as a bridge between global data communities and the global image data ecosystem. By contributing to international dialogues on interoperability and data ethics, foundingGIDE continues to advance the vision of a truly interconnected and FAIR, and global image data landscape.