Our article, co-authored with several Hungarian experts and titled “Developing the Data Steward Community in Hungary,” was published in the first issue of the Central European Library and Information Science Review (CELISR) for 2026. The study is a collaborative effort by data steward specialists from the Data Repository Platform, the ELTE National Laboratory for Digital Heritage (ELTE DH-LAB), and the ELTE Research Centre for Linguistics (NYTK). The authors provide a detailed account of the steps, milestones, and challenges involved in the emergence of the data curator profession in Hungary, the individual and joint efforts of the institutions, the institutionalization of the profession, as well as the grassroots formation, development, and role of the Hungarian data curator community.

What makes this article unique is that it reports on processes currently underway and highlights the work of professionals who are active participants in and shapers of these processes. The study offers insight into the development of a new profession, encompassing all of its individual, institutional, and collaborative aspects.

The study is authored by Ákos Lencsés (NYTK), one of the key drivers of the Hungarian data steward community; Zsuzsa Sidó (ELTE DH-LAB) and Bence Vida (ELTE DH-LAB), instructors of the first official university-level data steward program; as well as Júlia Egyed-Gergely (TK KDK, ARP), Henrietta Farkas (HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network, ARP), Anna Horváth (TK KDK, ARP), and Enikő Meiszterics (TK KDK, ARP), the developers and implementers of the HUN-REN Data Scientist Network’s training program.

As we can read in the abstract: “Data stewardship is an emerging professional field that supports researchers in managing, preserving, and sharing research data according to FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and open science principles. In Hungary, this role has recently become institutionalized through coordinated educational and community-building initiatives. The first formal postgraduate data steward training program was launched at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in 2023, providing interdisciplinary education that combines technical, legal, and research data management skills. Parallel to this, the HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network established its Data Steward Network in 2024, supported by infrastructure development and pilot projects. The network’s members, trained through a dedicated internal training program, support research data management across diverse disciplines. Regular community meetings, workshops, and international collaborations further strengthen professionalization efforts. Together, these developments represent a significant step toward integrating data stewardship into Hungary’s research ecosystem, creating a national framework that fosters sustainable research data management practices across institutions.”

The full article is available here: https://doi.org/10.3311/celisr.43151

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