These two days brought together research stakeholders around the crucial issue of producing quality data, aiming to strengthen collective capacity for generating knowledge and addressing environmental, health, and societal challenges. The event also featured the awarding of open science prizes.
The question of producing reliable, interoperable data used within a fair and controlled framework was central to the discussions. The event, organized by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space, highlighted the strategic role of data in health and environmental fields.
Following Aix-Marseille University in 2024 and Paris-Saclay University in 2025, the University of Montpellier, by hosting this 3rd edition, confirms the importance of data in transforming scientific practices. The conference explored the contribution of scientific data to public policy development and the conditions for its sharing.
Global health issues, including interactions between human, animal, and environmental health, as well as topics related to water, natural resource preservation, desertification, forests, climate, and biodiversity, were addressed. The experience of the University of Montpellier's Space Center notably illustrated the use of observation data.
Véronique Stoll, national director of research data at the Ministry, recalled the University of Montpellier's ambition in data management and valorization. The appointment of Anne Laurent as vice-president delegate for data underscores this commitment.
Initiatives such as EcoDoR, Montpellier's data workshop, and the Montpellier Institute of Data Science (ISDM), provide support to scientific teams for data management and sharing, thereby strengthening the university's capacity to act.
The first day also included the awarding of open science prizes by Marin Dacos, national coordinator for open science, recognizing 25 laureates for their open practices in data, software, and thesis valorization.
The theme of this edition resonates with the University of Montpellier's scientific strengths in life sciences, environmental sciences, data science, and artificial intelligence, echoing the ambitions of the I-Site excellence program: to nourish, heal, and protect.
