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Fostering Belonging in Data Sciences and beyond

Belonging in Data Science: Designing Inclusive Research Infrastructures

Open Science isn’t just about access — it’s about belonging. This world café workshop explores how to foster inclusive participation in data science, where technical barriers and cultural norms often exclude women and newcomers. Through real-life use cases and rotating group discussions, we will co-design strategies to make research infrastructures more welcoming, equitable, and effective. Bring your experiences, ideas, and curiosity, and help shape a more inclusive data future.


For science to be truly open, people need access not only to resources but also to the confidence to use them — especially in data science, where technical tools are key to sharing data and code under FAIR principles. However, the tech space remains male-dominated, and many women and newcomers feel out of place. This lack of belonging can prevent people from engaging fully.

As staff at the Data Science Centre, we regularly encounter situations where inclusivity is a barrier. We believe research infrastructures like ours can drive change by actively welcoming diverse participation and designing thoughtful interventions. We can share our experience to that end with use cases and we’re eager to learn from the audience: what have you already tried, and which ideas do you consider useful?
We propose a world café format, where we divide participants into small groups and assign them to tables, each representing one of the following use cases:

  • A Q&A chat about a computational topic
  • A 2 days course on git
  • A scientific workflow management system
  • A meeting with mixed scientific knowledge
  • A newsletter promoting standardisation of practices

The groups work on their use cases following discussion prompts and tasks. Groups will switch tables three times and pick up the work of other groups. This format ensures a collaborative atmosphere and nudges participants to discover new topics.
Together, we aim to identify strategies and best practices for fostering inclusiveness in the Data Sciences.

Details

  • DATE:
    17 September 2025
  • ROOM:
    82/1-001 Science Gateway Lab B

Organisers


Speakers

Jacobo Miranda

EMBL

Lisanna Paladin

EMBL

Isabela Paredes Cisneros

EMBL

Short Bios

Jacobo Miranda

I am Dr. Ing Jacobo Miranda, Bioinformatics Training Officer at EMBL Heidelberg, as part of he Data Science Internal support team. Where I help people use the great compute infrastructure available online, by providing training, consulting or support. From developing applications (even with no code) to delivering results to people online. My goal is to help people achieve their potential, by finding and providing access to the right people, resources or capabilities; and improving myself along the way. I am also a member of The German Competence Center Cloud Technologies for Data Management and Processing (de.KCD)

Lisanna Paladin

Lisanna Paladin leads the Data Science Internal Support (DaSIS) team at EMBL Heidelberg, where she and her colleagues support life science research through consulting, training, infrastructure, and community engagement. With a background in bioinformatics and international project coordination, Lisanna focuses on collaborative approaches to research support, the implementation of open and FAIR practices, and the professionalisation of support roles in academia. Her work is strongly rooted in community and teamwork, both within EMBL and across pan-European initiatives, with a particular interest in creating sustainable, inclusive frameworks for open science.

Isabela Paredes Cisneros

Isabela Paredes Cisneros is the Project Manager for the BioNT (Bio Network for Training) consortium, a Digital Europe Programme initiative co-funded by the European Commission and aimed at professionalising life sciences data management, processing, and analysis skills. Based at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, she coordinates the nine-partner consortium spanning four European countries. With expertise in computational training in life sciences, Isabela oversees the design, development, and delivery of BioNT's comprehensive training programme targeting job seekers and SME employees in the biomedical and biotechnology sectors. She has played a key role in establishing strategic collaborations with open science communities and in organising the BioNT Community Event & CarpentryConnect Heidelberg 2024.

    Agenda