GWK Strengthens Research Data Management and High-Performance Computing at Universities

On 10 July, the Gemeinsame Wissenschaftskonferenz (GWK) adopted important decisions to further develop key research infrastructures in Germany. The focus is on the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) and the National High-Performance Computing initiative for universities (NHR).

For the National Research Data Infrastructure, the German federal government and the  federal states intend to jointly provide up to €98.7 million annually from 2029 to 2038. The goal is to further expand the NFDI as Germany's central hub for research data management. Under the guiding principle of "One NFDI", existing services will be more closely integrated, common standards will be established, and researchers will receive enhanced support in managing and using research data.

In addition, the GWK decided to continue funding the National High-Performance Computing initiative for universities (NHR) in 2027 with up to €62.5 million, maintaining the level of support provided in previous years. Furthermore, the federal government will provide up to €30.7 million in additional funding between 2026 and 2030 from the Special Fund for Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality. These investments will be used to expand AI-enabled high-performance computing capacities at German universities. The operation of the additional AI infrastructure will be primarily ensured by the host states and supporting institutions of the respective NHR centres.

Further information [German]

https://www.bmftr.bund.de/SharedDocs/Kurzmeldungen/DE/2026/07/100726-gwk-forschungsdaten-nhr.html

https://www.gwk-bonn.de/fileadmin/Redaktion/Dokumente/Pressemitteilungen/PM_09_26.pdf