Posted April 3, 2026 by Office of Research and Innovation
The following is a guest column from Alian Kasabian, research data and security liaison with the Office of Research and Innovation. The “Year of Data” is a yearlong campaign to bring attention to campus resources and educational resources related to research data. The campaign kicked off in September 2025 and runs through April 2026, with monthly topics related to research data management and the research data life cycle.
This is it, colleagues – the last month of the Year of Data campaign! Thank you to everyone who has participated. We hope you have a greater awareness of campus resources and learned something new along the way. You can find links to associated resources for each month on the Research Data website under the Year of Data tab. There are also some events in April related to research data and the research data life cycle that will be shared below.
AI learning opportunities
The focus this month is on new technologies, including the role of artificial intelligence. The new University of Nebraska AI Institute has activities planned throughout the month, including Husker AI Days, a joint effort with the College of Engineering’s Prairie Initiative. Events are scheduled from April 13-25, including workshops and presentations from different industry partners and student-centered events. Sign up for the Prairie Initiative’s contact list to get information in your inbox.
This is a swiftly changing landscape, and the NU AI Institute will provide information about new resources as they become available. In the meantime, you can find guidelines from the Office of Research and Innovation. R&I also developed a Frequently Asked Questions guide in partnership with NU ITS. To learn more about the different AI options currently supported by NU, the AI @ NU page has explanations and links to different resources and any associated costs. You can also find a link to the ITS training for generative AI on that page or via Bridge. We recommend everyone who is considering or planning to use generative AI to take the training. Holland Computing Center also has AI and machine learning (ML) capable resources to support your research needs in this area.
Additional research data resources
UNL researchers developing their own technology can get support from NUtech Ventures. NUtech can assist with intellectual property, technology transfer and commercialization, and more. And if your research involves the transport of technology (new or old), to or from UNL, or between third parties, you should work with Export Control. Both NUtech and the Export Control websites have FAQs and guidance to help support researchers, as well as dedicated, knowledgeable staff who can offer advice.
Upcoming events
Units across the university are hosting additional activities in April that may be of interest to the research data community. Additional information is available via the links below.
- Week of April 6: Come support UNL’s undergraduates and graduate students at Student Research Days events, including poster sessions and the Student Research Slam.
- April 13, noon-1 p.m.: University Libraries will host a workshop on the Measurement of Research Impact. This virtual event will address tracking research efforts and sharing science.
- April 15 and April 17, 12:30-5 p.m.: R&I will host the final two Research Identity Workshops, which are opportunities to connect, plan and collaborate with colleagues.
- April 16-17: The 11th Annual Nebraska Forum on Digital Humanities will focus on visualization, digital technologies and ethics.
- April 22, 12:30-1:30 p.m.: The Bureau of Sociological Research will host a client panel: “Highlighting Survey Research in Non-Social Science Fields; A Client Perspective.” Learn about working with BOSR for data collection. This event is at the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center, Ubuntu Room.
Thanks again to all who have contributed and participated in the Year of Data. We encourage you to continue sharing resources and events related to research data through the resource recommendation form or by emailing researchdata@unl.edu.
