foundingGIDE Community Event 2026
From Interoperability to Global Impact
The foundingGIDE Community Event 2026 offers a unique opportunity to engage directly with the standards, tools, and recommendations developed through the project, to exchange perspectives across disciplines and regions, and to help shape the future direction of a truly global, interoperable imaging data ecosystem.
We invite researchers, infrastructure providers, technology developers, funders, policy makers and industry representatives to join us in Heidelberg, Germany on 4-6 May 2026 for the Community Event plenary sessions and on 7-8 May 2026 for workshops and in parallel a hackathon.
Location: EMBL Heidelberg, Meyerhofstraße 1 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
Dates for Community Event: 4-6 May
Dates for Workshops: 7-8 May
Dates for Hackathon: 7-8 May
Deadline registration for in-person (all events): 10 April
Deadline registration for virtual attendance (Community Event): 30 April
After two successful global community events in Japan (2024) and Australia (2025), foundingGIDE will conclude with its final community event on 4-6 May, 2026 in Heidelberg, Germany followed on 7-8 May by a hackathon and several workshops. This community event will celebrate the project’s achievements in advancing interoperability for biological and preclinical imaging data, bringing together researchers, technology developers, funders, policy makers and industry representatives.
Community Event
4-6 May
Over the first three days, the event will feature a comprehensive program of plenary sessions designed to tackle the most pressing, high-level challenges in the global imaging data space. This plenary structure ensures that diverse perspectives, from technical experts to policymakers and industry leaders, are brought together to solidify the global image data ecosystem. The plenary will include the following sessions:
Data sharing policy and sustainability
This session will explore how data policies and funding strategies can be aligned to move beyond regional silos. Discussions will focus on creating a sustainable framework to solidify the long term investment required for imaging data to become a global research asset.
Community efforts on global data sharing
Building on the previous exchanges in Japan (2024) and Australia (2025), this session focuses on the global community developments that drive the GIDE. It will highlight the essential role of global partners such as Global BioImaging in fostering a culture of shared responsibility, moving from a mindset of data “ownership” to community “stewardship”.
Technical foundations of global data sharing
This technical session deep-dives into the foundational blocks of interoperability such as metadata models and ontologies. Experts will present results from the project’s efforts to harmonise major repositories (BioImage Archive (BIA), Image Data Resource (IDR), and SSBD:database) as well as developments of the global community. The session will highlight technical developments that now enable AI-ready FAIR data.
Data sharing across domains
This session explores how imaging data can be integrated with structural, genomic, and proteomic data and how common frameworks can enable data sharing. This session will showcase how aligning practices across domains promotes cross-disciplinary discoveries. Participants will examine how a harmonized approach to life science research can transform data from isolated silos into a connected global knowledge base.
Building common sustainable solutions
This session provides a high-level platform for researchers, developers and industry stakeholders to align with emerging global standards in imaging data interoperability, co-develop shared approaches, and help shape the future of a truly global, interoperable imaging data ecosystem.
Data reuse and AI-ready data
As the demand for AI-driven discovery grows, the need for high-quality, well-annotated datasets becomes paramount. This session examines how standardized metadata frameworks enable AI applications. Through real-world use cases, we will explore how FAIR imaging data is reused to accelerate scientific discovery while ensuring that this data remains trusted and available for future scientific breakthroughs.
Wrap up session of 2.5 years of foundingGIDE
The final session reflects on the 30-month journey of the foundingGIDE project, which has successfully laid the groundwork for a permanent GIDE. A central feature of this wrap-up will be the presentation of the harmonised metadata models achieved across major global repositories, specifically the BioImage Archive (BIA), Image Data Resource (IDR), and SSBD:database. By aligning these disparate systems the project has delivered a functional cross-resource search prototype that transforms how researchers discover imaging data.
The session will also celebrate the delivery of a robust set of recommendations for both the bioimaging and preclinical communities, addressing a critical gap in data interoperability. These recommendations provide the “common language” necessary for machine-readable and FAIR data. Looking beyond the project’s conclusion, this session will outline the roadmap for long-term sustainability, ensuring that these foundational developments allow the ecosystem to continue evolving as a permanent global research asset.
Who should attend
foundingGIDE Community Event is designed for anyone aiming to improve interoperability of bioimaging data. While the list below highlights key target groups, it is by no means exhaustive, we welcome anyone interested in advancing FAIR and open imaging practices.
- Researchers and Imaging Scientists: working with or generating complex imaging data
- Data Stewards and Bioimage Analysts: involved in curating, processing, or analyzing imaging datasets
- Informatics and FAIR Data Experts: interested in ontologies, metadata standards and infrastructure that enables data interoperability
- Core Facility Staff and Research Infrastructure providers: supporting imaging workflows and looking for ways to align with global interoperability practices
- Software Developers: creating or maintaining tools for image visualization, annotation, storage, or sharing, and keen to align with community standards
- Policy Makers, Funders, and Community Organizers: engaged in shaping open science, data sharing policies, and supporting sustainable and interoperable research infrastructures
- Publishers, Repositories, and Journal Editors: focused on image data reproducibility
Whether you’re from academia, industry, research infrastructure, or policy, if you want to hear more about interoperable imaging data, this event is for you.
Workshops
7-8 May
Following the plenary sessions, the event will transition into a highly interactive phase featuring several in-person parallel workshops. The workshops will include topics on:
- Australian Imaging Services (AIS) on 7-8 May
- Euro-BioImaging Image Data Analysis Services
- Euro-BioImaging offers Image Data Analysis as a Service through expert image analysts at the nodes. More information will follow.
Hackathon
7-8 May
Following the foundingGIDE Community Event 2026, we are excited to host the second and final technical coordination event of the project from 7–8 May 2026 in-person in Heidelberg, Germany. This foundingGIDE hackathon represents the final technical event of our 30-month journey to build a Global Image Data Ecosystem (GIDE).
This is a hands-on event dedicated to finalizing and updating the project’s core technical outputs. We invite developers, ontologists, and data stewards to develop practical solutions to improve metadata interoperability through harmonized ontologies and standards.
Poster Abstract Submission
Participants are invited to submit a poster abstract for the foundingGIDE Community Event. Accepted posters will be presented during the poster session taking place on 4 May, from 17:30 to 19:00, providing an opportunity to showcase work, exchange ideas, and engage with the foundingGIDE community.
Abstracts should be a maximum of 250 words and must be submitted via the online submission form.
Accommodation and transportation
The event will take place at the EMBL Heidelberg.
For more information about accommodation in the area and the transport to the venue, including daily shuttles to EMBL Heidelberg, please check here.
Visa
Before planning your trip, we recommend checking the current VISA requirements with your local embassy or consulate. You can find some information HERE.
Other relevant events
- Euro-BioImaging Data Days 13-17 April 2026, Virtual. More information here.
- Open Microscopy Community Meeting 28-30 April 2026, Düsseldorf, Germany. More information here.
Diversity and inclusion
We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants. All interactions are to be respectful and constructive, including interactions prior to, during and after the conference itself, and on social media. All attendees are expected to adhere by our Terms and conditions and Privacy Notice to foster a welcoming and inclusive environment.
Contact
If you have any questions about the foundingGIDE Community Event 2026, please contact us at: foundingGIDE@eurobioimaging.eu
Event Organizers
Project Partners
