TeSSHub4EOSC

TeSSHub4EOSC aims to build a distributed, FAIR-compliant catalogue infrastructure for training materials and events within the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), building on the proven TeSS platform and its successor, the mTeSS-X project. It will serve as the training metadata backbone for the EOSC Catalogue, directly addressing the fragmentation of training resources scattered across research infrastructures, universities, and domain-specific communities. By automating the harvesting, standardisation, and exposure of metadata from diverse sources, the project enables interoperable discovery and reuse of training materials, fully aligned with EOSC’s interoperability frameworks and FAIR principles.

The foundation was laid during the OSCARS-funded mTeSS-X project, which developed standardised metadata exchange protocols and introduced the concept of “spaces”: custom-branded views that allow different science communities or projects to embed themselves within a shared catalogue, each with their own identity. TeSSHub4EOSC builds on this by establishing the organisational framework to make creating new spaces simpler and more scalable.

The core objective is to deploy a central TeSSHub instance that integrates decentralised training catalogues, such as ELIXIR TeSS and PaN-Training, while giving EOSC nodes, science clusters, and competence centres the ability to create custom-branded spaces without maintaining separate infrastructure. A key milestone will be the pilot onboarding of TeSSHub into at least one existing EOSC Node, demonstrating its value as a federated training resource hub in practice.

TeSSHub4EOSC will strengthen the EOSC Federation by enriching the EOSC Catalogue with a comprehensive, up-to-date registry of training materials, fully compliant with EOSC technical and metadata standards, including EOSC-AAI integration for secure authentication. It will act as a unified access point, lowering barriers for users navigating multiple training providers and empowering research infrastructures, universities, and the EOSC Academy to contribute, discover, and reuse resources effectively.

To ensure lasting impact, the project will produce best-practice guidelines for metadata standardisation and harvesting workflows, alongside tutorials, webinars, and documentation to support onboarding. Curated content will be contributed to the EOSC Academy, and all outputs, including the TeSSHub4EOSC instance, documentation, and training resources, will be openly available on GitHub and Zenodo, ensuring long-term adoption across the EOSC landscape.

TeSSHub4EOSC directly supports EU Open Science policy and EOSC Federation objectives by tackling three critical priorities: data interoperability, FAIR compliance, and cross-disciplinary training access. The project aligns with the EU’s Digital Decade targets and the European Research Area (ERA) Policy Agenda, both of which call for seamless access to research data and infrastructures. By consolidating fragmented training resources into a unified, FAIR-aligned catalogue, it ensures that training materials are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable across European research infrastructures.

For researchers and data stewards, the benefits are immediate: no more hunting across siloed platforms. The centralised, EOSC-AAI-integrated hub streamlines access to high-quality training, accelerating competency development in Open Science and data management. Participating organisations, including EOSC nodes, science clusters, and competence centres, gain increased visibility for their training offerings, improved metadata quality, and reduced redundancy in infrastructure development.

On the technical side, the project enhances FAIRness through standardised metadata schemas, persistent identifiers, and machine-readable interfaces. Integration with the EOSC Catalogue and Academy ensures training materials are enriched with contextual metadata, improving their discoverability and reuse potential. By contributing best practices and training modules to the EOSC Academy, TeSSHub4EOSC strengthens the EOSC Federation’s capacity to serve diverse scientific communities and reinforces Europe’s position in open, data-intensive research.

TeSSHub4EOSC is built to scale. Its modular, open-source architecture separates core functionalities (metadata harvesting, standardisation, and API-based access) from domain-specific customisations, allowing EOSC nodes, research infrastructures, and domain communities to integrate their training catalogues with minimal effort. By leveraging EOSC interoperability standards including EOSC AAI, FAIR metadata, and REST APIs, the platform stays compatible with existing and future EOSC services, keeping technical barriers to adoption low.

Sustainability is secured through a multi-layered governance model. The central TeSSHub instance will be maintained by the project consortium after launch, with operational costs absorbed into the existing budgets of participating organisations such as ELIXIR and PaNOSC. A community-driven governance board, comprising representatives from EOSC nodes and training providers, will oversee updates, prioritise feature development, and ensure alignment with evolving EOSC requirements. Training materials, documentation, and best practices will be hosted on Zenodo and the EOSC Academy for long-term accessibility.