ESG4Stars kick-off meeting
Our new EU-funded research infrastructure project to reduce the environmental footprint of scientific computing on platforms like Galaxy will begin in October.
The ESG4Stars project will see its kick-off meeting in the week of 5 October 2026.
The EU-funded project brings together 13 European partners to work on sustainable scientific workflows that reduce the environmental footprint of scientific computing and data analysis on research infrastructure platforms like Galaxy.
Meeting and Satellite Events
The kick-off meeting will take place at the University of Freiburg, Germany, that also acts as the coordinator of the project.
The meeting itself will be running for two full days on 5 and 6 October 2026 and will comprise:
- an overview of the project structure and goals
- presentations of the different work packages by their leads
- guest presentations from related projects and initiatives
- discussion sessions
It will be followed by satellite activities (hackathons, trainings and workshops) on the subsequent three days until the early afternoon of Friday, 9 October, to let you maximize the value of your travel to Freiburg and to get work on the project going immediately.
A detailed agenda of the kick-off meeting and a list of satellite events will be published here closer to the event date.
Venue
The meeting will take place at the Department of Computer Science in building 101 on the campus of the Faculty of Engineering (see location in openstreetmap).
The address is:
Albert Ludwig University Freiburg
Department of Computer Science
Georges-Köhler-Allee 101
79110 Freiburg
Germany
Sustainable Travel
In line with the environmental focus of ESG4Stars, we would like to encourage participants to use public transport where possible.
By Train
The main station is called Freiburg (Breisgau) Hbf and can be reached conveniently by long-distance (ICE) trains from the north (via Frankfurt, Mannheim and Karlsruhe) and the south (via Basel). Regional trains connect the city also to the TGV station in Mulhouse, France.
For detailed connection information and booking you can check out one of these sites:
- Deutsche Bahn
- Trainline
- Railfinder (beta version)
or the website of your national railways operator(s).
If you need additional help for navigating through the European railways jungle, or if you should be worried by rumors of unreliable German train connections (these are only partly exaggerations ;-)), just contact us. We’re happy to help.
By Bus
There is a FlixBus stop directly at the train main station of Freiburg serving many European destinations.
By Plane
If flying really is your only option, try to book a direct flight (to Frankfurt or to the Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg EuroAirport) to minimize emissions and use public transport for your way to and from the airport.
In Freiburg
To reach the meeting venue from the main train station, you have these two public transport options:
- local train: take the Breisgau S-Bahn (direction to Breisach) to the stop “Freiburg Messe/Universität”
- tram: use tram line 4 (direction to Messe) to the stop “Technische Fakultät” (see tram plan)
The trams are also the easiest way to get around in Freiburg during the week.
Here you can find the types of tram tickets that VAG offers (in German only, unfortunately). The 2x4 rides ticket is often a good option for several days and/or passengers. You’re getting two printed tickets, each for 4 rides on any dates you like. You can use multiple trams/buses on one ride in a given direction and you need to stamp your ticket after boarding the first tram/bus of the ride. Within the city limits of Freiburg you only need the 1-zone (Preisstufe 1) version of the ticket.
Freiburg is also a great city to get around by bicycle. Take a look at the city’s Frelo bike sharing system if you’re interested.
Again, please don’t hesitate to ask us for help if you need it.
Lodging
For your convenience, we have compiled a non-exhaustive list of hotels, grouped by their location in the city, for you.
City Center
Main Station
Faculty of Engineering (close to the venue)
Event Rules and Regulations
The European Galaxy Days will abide the Galaxy Project Code of Conduct. Please, make sure that you read it before the event.