Building and Maintaining Scientific Resources

Attendance is free of charge; however, registration is mandatory.

Overview

A new scientific resource, i.e. database, service or software tool, typically results from a research project that leads to a proof of concept. With further development, it can evolve toward maturity and, if successful, may become part of the research infrastructure essential to the scientific community.

This course will provide participants with the foundational knowledge and strategies needed to conceptualize, build, and maintain impactful scientific resources. Key topics will include identifying target audiences, defining essential features, and creating minimal viable products (MVPs) that prioritise usability and scalability. Participants will learn best practices for designing user-friendly interfaces, fostering community engagement, and building robust APIs that enhance interoperability with other tools. The course will also explore critical aspects of long-term sustainability, resource management, and security, including data privacy, compliance, and the growing impact of AI on scientific resources. It will consider how AI agents and automated systems access, query, scrape, reuse, and integrate data from online resources, and how websites, APIs, and documentation can be prepared for AI-mediated use. Related challenges will include automated data reuse, security risks, resource load, data provenance, and clear attribution. Emphasis will also be placed on data accessibility, transparency, reproducibility, versioning, and FAIR principles. Participants will gain insights into collecting and integrating user feedback, monitoring usage through analytics, identifying performance issues, and continually improving their tools. It will address common challenges, such as balancing feature sets with project scope, scaling resources, and managing documentation. Interactive discussions and activities will encourage participants to apply these principles to their own projects. By the end of the course, attendees will have a roadmap for building scientific resources that are not only functional but also sustainable, secure, and user centric.

This 0.5-day course is taught by the developers of the STRING database.

Audience

This course is designed for PhD students, postdoctoral and other researchers in the life sciences from both academia and industry who are interested in designing, building, and maintaining scientific resources. It is particularly relevant for those who manage data platforms, tools, or services and want to enhance usability, interoperability, and sustainability.

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, participants are expected to:

State the key principles involved in designing, building, and maintaining scientific resources.
Explain how to prioritize feature sets and data transparency to enhance usability.
Discuss monitoring resource usage, identifying performance issues, fixing bugs, and improving overall functionality.
Describe how to develop secure, interoperable APIs and apply FAIR principles for effective data management.
DDebate best practices for engaging users and fostering a supportive community around scientific resources.

Prerequisites

Knowledge / competencies

This course is designed for beginners. However, to make the most out of the course, participants should be familiar with data management, software development, or APIs.

Technical

Participants are required to have their own computer with an Internet connection. No specific software installation is required.

Tentative Schedule - CET time zone

Time	Activity
14:00 - 14:10	Introduction to scientific resources
14:10 - 14:30	Defining audience and designing your resource
14:30 - 15:00	Thing you must know about full stack (infrastructure / backend / frontend)
15:00 - 15:30	Server administration, maintainability, and versioning
15:30 - 15:45	Coffee break
15:45 - 16:00	Security and resource monitoring
16:00 - 16:30	User onboarding / FAIR principles
16:30 - 17:00	sources in the age of AI (AI agents / security risks / data attribution)
17:00 - 17:15	Dissemination / Feedback / Community Building
17:15 - 17:45	Closing remarks and Q&A

Application

Attendance is free of charge; however, registration is mandatory. Applications will close on 17/11/2026.

Please note that participation in SIB courses is subject to our general conditions.

Venue and Time

This course will be streamed using Zoom.

It will start at 14:00 CET (08:00 EST) and end around 18:00 CET (12:00 EST).

Precise information will be provided to registered participants in due course.

Additional information

Coordination: Monique Zahn, SIB Training group.

You are welcome to register to the SIB courses mailing list to be informed of all future courses and workshops, as well as all important deadlines using the form here.