TDCC-NES Ontology Engineers

Working together to make research data meaningful

How can we make research outputs in the Natural & Engineering Sciences more understandable, reusable, and machine-actionable, even across institutions, disciplines, and infrastructures? This is the focus of Ontology Engineering within TDCC-NES.

TDCC-NES has two dedicated ontology engineers supporting NES researchers and projects across the Netherlands. We offer free, practical guidance and training to help you select, develop, and apply ontologies, so that your research outputs become more FAIR, interoperable, and AI-ready.

Our work is supported through the Strengthening Local and Thematic DCCs programme, funded by Open Science NL.

What are ontologies?

Ontologies are structured, machine-readable descriptions of concepts and relationships in a domain. They provide shared definitions of terms such as materials, processes, instruments, samples, methods, and variables, so that both humans and machines can interpret them consistently.

Adopting ontologies benefits you by enabling interoperability (the I in FAIR). Your research data will become easier to understand, link to other datasets, and reuse for further studies. Ontologies are also the foundation for linked data knowledge graphs, enabling data to be linked and queried across systems.

What kind of support can you get?

• Ontology selection & reuse
  Choose which existing ontologies to use, and how your terms map to them.
• Ontology development & co-design
  Define and model missing concepts together with domain experts.
• Ontology implementation
  Embed the ontology in your data and workflows, so terms are used consistently.
• Knowledge graphs & semantic architecture
  Decide how datasets and systems should connect and link through shared meaning.
• Training & knowledge sharing
  Workshops and sessions to help teams build skills and work independently.

Our service is still evolving, so this list is not exhaustive. If you are unsure where your question fits, please get in touch. No prior ontology knowledge is required; just tell us about your research, and we will help you explore the options.

How we work

We provide focused support through short intakes, workshops, reviews, and recommendations. We aim for practical outcomes and long-term independence for your project. Thanks to the support from Open Science NL, our services are provided to you for free.

Get in touch

Do you want to know more, discuss your project, or ask a question? Do you want to request consultancy or training? Please email us at nes@tdcc.nl.

We also have an open office hours on Mondays from 11:00 to 12:00, which you can join online or in person at the TU Delft Library. To register, please email nes@tdcc.nl with a short description of what you would like to discuss.

Upcoming dates:

• 2, 9 and 23 February 2026
• 2, 9, 23 and 30 March 2026