European Open Science Cloud officially launched

On Friday 23 November the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) was officially launched in Vienna at an event hosted by the Austrian Presidency of the European Union. The inauguration marks the conclusion of a long process of consultation and reflection with stakeholders led by the European Commission.

The event demonstrates the importance of EOSC for the advancement of research in Europe and introduces the new EOSC Portal. The EOSC Portal provides access to data, services, training and resources. It is a source of up-to-date information about the EOSC initiative, including best practices, governance and user stories. All service providers, research communities and other entities with a stake in EOSC are invited to visit the EOSC Portal and explore how they can benefit from its functionalities.

At the launch of EOSC the members of the newly appointed Executive Board were presented. The Board will be Chaired by Karel Luyben, former Rector Magnificus of the University of Delft in The Netherlands. The main task of the Executive Board is to guide the EOSC towards operationalisation, ensuring it fully and truly serves the research community.

In the Netherlands, a number of institutions, including the VU Amsterdam, NWO and DANS (Data Archiving and Networked Services), signed the "EOSC-declaration" last year and these institutions became a recognized member of the coalition of EOSC Doers. Through its participation and responsibilities in EOSCpilot, EOSC-hub and the FREYA project, DANS is part of the scientific community turning EOSC into a reality.