On September 22, 2026, more than 18 researchers and staff members from various departments at Ruhr University Bochum gathered as part of the Research Data Management (RDM) Network to discuss Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs) . The meeting, held for the first time at the IT.SERVICES premises (Building IA 1/83), provided an ideal platform for engaging discussions over coffee and cookies.

Following a brief overview of current RDM activities at RUB and an introduction to the topic of ELN, a special highlight followed: a presentation by Dr. Marcel Marson, Data Steward of the Research Data Services team at our UA Ruhr partner university Duisburg-Essen. Dr. Marson not only highlighted technical aspects of the ELN tool eLabFTWbut also provided valuable practical tips for getting started and optimizing existing workflows. The subsequent Q&A session demonstrated that ELNs are far more than just digital notebooks. They enable structured documentation, facilitate collaboration, and thus help to preserve scientific knowledge in the long term. In the subsequent World Café session, participants exchanged ideas in small groups on „Getting Started with ELNs“ and „Going Beyond Documentation“ . The lively discussions highlighted just how diverse the requirements for ELNs are across different academic disciplines.

The next meeting of the RDM Network will take place on December 3, 2026 . The purpose of the meeting is to prioritize topics for the coming year and to jointly evaluate previous meetings: What can we do better? Which RDM topics should we focus on for next year? What is of particular interest to us at RUB? We cordially invite all interested members of the RUB community to register: https://eveeno.com/238949592

For more information on the RDM network , visit:
https://researchdata.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/en/fdm-netzwerk/

_{Bild: © FDM@Studium.NRW 2024; Text: © RUB, Pacharra}