RRiA at a glance
RRiA Unconference 2025 Programme
Pre-conference workshops
After registration for the unconference, attendees may select one of the following pre-conference workshops to participate in at no extra-cost, on Monday, September 22nd, 2025:
RRiA pre-conference workshop WS01
Strategizing for Impact: Change Management for Transforming Research Culture
Facilitated by Anne Merks, co-lead of Transformation Management at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin
RRiA pre-conference workshop WS02
Design Thinking
Facilitated by Frederike Engelhardt, Design Thinking expert and co-founder of the innovation consultancy Innoki, Berlin
RRiA pre-conference workshop WS03
How to use principles of behaviour change in improving research culture
Facilitated by Sadie Boniface, Principal Research Fellow at University College London and Research Lead at the Centre for Behaviour Change, and Emma Francis, Research Fellow at the Centre for Behaviour Change
Please note:
- Find more details about the three RRiA workshops and select your preferred one to register for HERE
RRiA Projects
We received over 70 project submissions from around the world – thank you!
After a competitive selection process, the 10 projects listed above were chosen for this year’s RRiA Unconference.
Note: Project numbers (1-10) are for reference only – they do not indicate any ranking or preference. When you register for a project, you’ll be part of that team for the entire Unconference – this gives you the chance to dive deep, collaborate closely, and make real progress together!
Registration closed. For an overview of all projects, please see here.
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Keynote Lecture – September 22, 5 PM
Are we FAIR yet? Changing the culture on data management and sharing
By Maryann Martone, Professor Emerita of Neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego, USA, and Principal Investigator of the FAIR Data Informatics Lab.
Followed by an informal interview with Maryann, including questions from the audience, conducted by Tracey Weissgerber, Team leader EXCELScIOR project ERA Chair, University of Coimbra, Portugal, and Chair of the RRiA Local Organizing Committee.
About Maryann and her talk
After spending many years as a neuroanatomist, specializing in light and electron microscopy, Maryann became intrigued by the possibilities enabled by the internet and computer science for achieving the promise of neuroscience through the emerging field of neuroinformatics. These interests and opportunities naturally led to more interest in open science, particularly data sharing and she has spent the latter part of her career in these pursuits.
Data sharing is seen as a key pillar in the move towards transparent and reproducible science, but with the rapid advances in AI and machine learning, it is also likely to be a key foundation of discovery science. With funding agencies and journals now requiring sharing of primary data, the question is no longer whether data will be shared but how to share it.
Despite great advances, data sharing is still nascent in most fields and there are many questions about how to do it effectively. What is apparent is that data sharing, like so many aspects of rigor and reproducibility, cannot be an afterthought. Effective data management in the lab is the gateway to effective data sharing.
In her presentation and in the informal interview afterwards, Maryann will provide examples and experiences from neuroscience in moving from a closed to an open science and how the FAIR data principles apply throughout the data lifecycle.
Welcome Reception – September 22, 2025, following the Keynote Lecture
With opportunity to connect with fellow participants.
Talk: The Making of PixelQuality: A Story of Images and Collaboration – September 23, 2025, 05:30 – 05:45 PM
Helena Jambor, Associate Professor at the University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons, and Christopher Schmied, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Molecular Pharmacology (FMP), are leads of the PixelQuality Initiative and recipients of the 2024 Einstein Foundation Early Career Award. In this input talk, Christopher will share insights into how this initiative grew into an international effort and helped inspire new reporting standards at Nature.
Networking Dinner – September 23, 2025, starting at 7 PM
Join us for a networking dinner set among the towering dinosaurs in the iconic hall of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin.