ELIXIR-UK members co-host toxicology workshop on FAIR training materials

The University of Birmingham recently welcomed the ELIXIR Toxicology Community for a two-day workshop titled ”Making toxicology educational resources more FAIR”, bringing together educators, data specialists, and training coordinators from across Europe. Held on June 24–25, 2025, this hands-on workshop focused on practical ways to enhance the visibility, reuse and interoperability of training materials in toxicology and related areas.

Co-hosted by Professor Iseult Lynch, the workshop reflects the UK’s continued commitment towards open, collaborative science and education. Discussions focused on designing learning paths for the toxicology domain and aligning training approaches with the FAIR principles – Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable – with contributions from toxicology and bioinformatics trainers, teachers, educational material providers and curriculum developers.

Dr Alexia Cardona (University of Cambridge) led the learning paths sessions, which introduced the ELIXIR Learning Paths Protocol, a methodical framework endorsed by the ELIXIR Training Platform to help communities build modular training programmes. Dr Sara Morsy (University of Bradford) led an interactive session on how to make toxicology training materials FAIRer, helping participants map their content to ELIXIR’s Training e-Support System (TeSS).

The event marked the fourth in a series of five workshops coordinated by the ELIXIR Toxicology Community, supported by the ELIXIR INTOXICOM  project. Participants worked toward drafting a toxicology-focused learning journey within TeSS – a concrete step in making quality training easier to find and integrate across countries and disciplines.

As part of ELIXIR-UK’s wider commitment to open, scalable training, the workshop supports national priorities around FAIR data and skills development while strengthening European collaboration.