BBMRI.at at the Kick-off of OSCA: Strengthening Research Infrastructures in Austria and Europe

A new Austrian Research infrastructure

The event, titled “OSCA Perspectives – From Institutional Commitment towards National and European Infrastructures” marked Austria’s accession to DiSSCo (Distributed System of Scientific Collections) – a major European research infrastructure dedicated to natural science collections.

BBMRI.at, being the Research Infrastructure for Biobanking, was invited to OSCA’s Kick off meeting.

The press conference announcing Austria’s membership in DiSSCo was joined by Federal Minister for Women, Science and Research, Eva-Maria Holzleitner, who underlined Austria’s strong commitment to research infrastructures.

About OSCA

OSCA – the Austrian national node of DiSSCo – brings together Austria’s natural science museums and university collections and is coordinated by the Natural History Museum Vienna. Aims are 1) Creation of a complete catalog of Austrian collections, in terms of a complete inventory of all biological (botanical, zoological), earth science (paleontological, geological, mineralogical, extraterrestrial), and anthropological collection objects. 2) The digital cataloging and utilization of Austria’s scientific collections as research infrastructure. 3) Making Austria’s scientific collections visible to various stakeholders from research, business, politics, and the public in Austria, Europe, and internationally.

Shared Perspectives with BBMRI.at

BBMRI.at warmly welcomes Austria’s entry into DiSSCo and its hub OSCA. Just like human and veterinary biobanks, natural science collections are valuable resources of samples, data, and expertise. Within the One Health approach – connecting human, animal, and environmental health – these infrastructures are increasingly interlinked.
Building synergies between infrastructures like BBMRI and OSCA ensures quality, comparability, and innovation across research fields – from biomedicine to biodiversity.

In their Work Programs, BBMRI-ERIC and BBMRI.at have a strong focus on One Health, intensifying collaboration with non-human research infrastructures and biobanks. Joining forces with OSCA therefore represents a natural and strategic step forward.

Programm

Opening remarks were given by Katrin Vohland (NHMW) and Karolina Begusch-Pfefferkorn (BMBWF), followed by Andreas Kroh (NHMW), highlighted international perspectives on research infrastructures. Dimitris Koureas (Naturalis Biodiversity Center) presented DiSSCo, while Heimo Rainer (NHMW) outlined the vision for OSCA.

Presentations followed by:

1. Torsten Schrade (Academy of Sciences and Literature, Mainz) on the German National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI)
2. Curtis Sharma (TU Delft/University of Oslo) on the ten ways to Implement FAIR in AI.

The second session, chaired by Kurt Zernig (Universalmuseum Joanneum), focused on Connections to Research Infrastructures. Talks featured the

1. Austrian Barcode of Life (ABOL) by Nikola Szucsich (NHMW),
2. Environmental DNA by Christian Sturmbauer (University of Graz) and Bettina Thalinger (University of Innsbruck) and
   an update on the OSCA-ABOL pilot: a collection-based approach to generating reference DNA barcodes of the endemic flora of Austria from Dominique Groffmann (University of Salzburg).
3. The session also featured new methods of natural scientific analysis from Michael Malicky (OÖLKG), and
   insights into Kulturpool by Julian Palacz (NHMW).

A closing panel brought together Austrian experts.

The launch of OSCA is more than the start of a new infrastructure, it is the beginning of a stronger and more connected research community. It opens doors to knowledge and new solutions to the challenges of our time, ensuring that science not only preserves the past, but also shapes a sustainable future.