On May 27, 2026, Nele Fuchs, a data scientist at the Data Science Center ( DSC) and at DataNord, a data competence center funded by the BMFTR, was a guest speaker in the Coffee Lecture series organized by the Thuringian Competence Network for Research Data Management (TKFDM). In a presentation titled “Your Digital Research Assistant: Obsidian for Researchers,” she provided a concise overview of the possibilities for organizing knowledge using note-taking apps and presented them as best practices.
The invitation builds on the training programs developed at the DSC that focus on digital research workflows. The Coffee Lecture was based on the tried-and-tested training format “Obsidian for Researchers: Customizing Your Digital Research Assistant.” The underlying training materials are available as Open Educational Resources (OER) on Zenodo (https://zenodo.org/records/20503819) and can be reused by other institutions, data stewards, or multipliers.
Knowledge Organization as Part of Good Research Practice
Effective knowledge organization is a key component of data-intensive and collaborative research. Especially as projects become more complex, a systematic approach to managing notes, sources, concepts, and decisions helps keep research processes transparent and interoperable.
In the Coffee Lecture, Nele Fuchs will present how note-taking apps can be used as flexible tools in everyday research. The focus is not on technology for technology’s sake, but on how researchers can better structure, document, and refine their own work processes.
DataNord's reach extends beyond Bremen
The collaboration with TKFDM demonstrates that the learning concepts developed as part of DataNord are in demand and applicable beyond Bremen. For the DSC, this is an important aspect of knowledge transfer: proven formats can be shared, adapted, and integrated into other research and support contexts as needed. In this way, the DSC helps make data and digital competencies visible and usable not only locally but also on a supraregional level.
Disclaimer:
The speaker is not affiliated with Dynalist Inc., the developer of Obsidian.
Interested in a similar format?
If you have questions about digital knowledge organization, research data management, or data science, or if you’d like to find a suitable format for your working group, institute, or research network, please feel free to contact our coordinator, Dr. Lena Steinmann. For further inspiration, please take a look at our training portfolio to date. We’d also be happy to work with you to develop programs tailored to your specific needs.
Further Links:
Coffee Lecture „Your Digital Research Assistant: Obsidian for Researchers“ at the TKFDM:
https://forschungsdaten-thueringen.de/veranstaltung/obsidian.html
OER-Materials „Obsidian for Researchers“ auf Zenodo:
https://zenodo.org/records/20503819
DataNord:
https://www.uni-bremen.de/datanord
If you have any questions, please contact:
Nele Fuchs
DSC Data Scientist
Tel. +49 (421) 218 59853
E-Mail: n.fuchsprotect me ?!uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
