The Research Data Alliance (RDA) will play a leading role at the AI in Science Summit 2026 (AIS26) in Dublin on 15–16 October 2026, co-curating the Open Science and Data for AI Research strand alongside University College Dublin Library and the Big Data Value Association (BDVA).

AIS26 is a flagship EU conference driving the implementation of the European Strategy on AI in Science. Coordinated by University College Dublin and Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland in association with Ireland’s EU Presidency Programme, the Summit will bring together researchers, research infrastructure providers, policymakers, industry and investors to explore how artificial intelligence can transform scientific discovery.

Data quality, interoperability and availability are fast becoming critical constraints on AI-driven research. For two decades, the Open Science movement has advanced the case for research that is transparent, reproducible and shared as a public good. AI introduces a new set of opportunities and challenges: it not only consumes research data and infrastructure at unprecedented scale, but changes what is required of data curation, governance, access and stewardship.

The Open Science and Data for AI Research strand will examine these challenges across three interconnected sessions, moving from the practical choices researchers face when preparing data for AI, through the evolution of research data infrastructure, to wider questions about who controls the data, models and computing resources underpinning AI-driven science.

Thursday 15 October | 14:00–15:30
Preparing Data for AI: Choices, Trade-offs, and Governance
Moderated by Hilary Hanahoe, Secretary General, Research Data Alliance

Exploring the practical governance, stewardship, sovereignty and technical choices involved in making research data ready for responsible use with AI.

Speakers: Diego Perino, Barcelona Supercomputing Center; Filippo Vasone, University of Bologna; Lidia Borrell-Damian, Science Europe; Rodrigo Roa, Data Observatory, Chile; and Sean Hill, Senscience / Frontiers.

Thursday 15 October | 16:00–17:30
Adapting Data Infrastructure for AI: Sovereignty, Governance, and Architectural Choices
Moderated by Sandra Collins, University Librarian, UCD Library

Examining how research infrastructures are responding to AI-scale requirements and the implications of architectural choices for data sovereignty, governance, access and research communities.

Speakers: Lisa Griffith, Digital Repository of Ireland; Tobias Weigel, Hereon / Helmholtz; Natalie Harrower, Canadian Research Data Centre Network; and Gergely Sipos, EGI Foundation.

Friday 16 October | 09:00–10:30
Data, Models and Power: Who Controls the Inputs to AI-Driven Science?
Moderated by Edward Curry, University of Galway and Vice-President, BDVA

Looking beyond infrastructure to the wider questions of access and control: who controls the compute, research and platform data, models and knowledge resources that AI-driven science depends upon, and on what terms can research communities access them?

Speakers: Kimmo Koski, CSC – IT Center for Science / LUMI AI Factory; Ali Knott, Social Data Science Alliance; Nuria de Lama, BDVA; Angel Alonso, European Alliance for Research Excellence; and Laure Le Bars, SAP Research & Innovation.

The strand concludes with the AIS26 Plenary Session on Strand Outputs on Friday 16 October, 11:00–11:50, where Hilary Hanahoe will present key issues, opportunities and recommendations emerging from the Open Science and Data discussions.

Location: UCD O’Connor Centre for Learning, Ground Floor (L0), Room L0.04, University College Dublin.