News-Article

At the 39th Chaos Communication Congress, the DSC once again contributed perspectives from research data management (RDM) and data literacy to the tech community. DataNord data scientist Sarah Büker highlighted why RDM is not only a technical challenge, but also a social and inclusion-related one.

The 39th Chaos Communication Congress (39C3) took place in Hamburg from 27 to 30 December 2025. As one of the world’s largest community-driven events on technology, digital culture, and the societal implications of digitalization, the congress brings together participants from a wide range of technical, scientific, and civic backgrounds. The DSC was once again part of this diverse exchange.

This year, the focus was on how research data management can be made more inclusive – particularly with regard to neurodivergent researchers. Their needs are often insufficiently reflected in existing strategies and guidelines, even though they make up a significant share of the research landscape.

Workshop: “Inclusion and Research Data Management”

On 28 December, Sarah Büker, a data scientist in the BMFTR-funded DataNord project, led an 80-minute interactive workshop combining a short introductory talk with several discussion rounds. The workshop started from the observation that while RDM is increasingly structured around concepts such as FAIR data, data management plans, and ELSA considerations, there is still little reflection on whom these strategies actually work for in practice.

Together with participants from different disciplines and career stages, the workshop explored questions such as:

Are current RDM strategies designed to be inclusive?
Where do institutional requirements create additional barriers?
What do researchers need in order to implement data management in a realistic way?

The discussions made clear that many challenges in dealing with research data are structural rather than individual. A central outcome of the workshop was the shared call for more openness in talking about difficulties, uncertainties, and mistakes—creating space for mutual learning and more sustainable solutions.

Building on “How to Thrive in Chaos”

In addition, Sarah Büker continued the conversation with a talk titled “How to Thrive in Chaos, Part II”, building on the highly successful discussion round from the previous year, which had attracted more than 250 participants. Once again, the focus was on the everyday working realities of neurodivergent researchers, offering space to exchange strategies, pressures, and strengths beyond conventional performance narratives.

Why this matters

The contributions at 39C3 highlight that research data management is not merely a technical or organizational concern, but also a social and cultural one. Especially in open, interdisciplinary settings like the Chaos Communication Congress, it becomes clear how closely data practices, digitalization, and inclusion are intertwined.

For the DSC, participating in 39C3 is therefore an important part of its knowledge transfer activities. The discussions provide valuable input for the ongoing development of inclusive advisory and training formats within the BMFTR-funded DataNord project. At the same time, the DSC helps raise awareness of inclusive data practices in research-adjacent, technical, and civil society contexts—well beyond traditional academic settings.