In this series, we share short interviews to introduce you to the diverse partners contributing to our LUMEN vision. Each month, we’ll shine a spotlight on three of our partners—offering a glimpse into who they are, what they do, and what drives their work within LUMEN. In this edition, Tomasz Umerle answered our questions.
- Can you briefly introduce your organisation and its role within the LUMEN project?
The Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IBL PAN) is a Polish academic institution. In the LUMEN project, our digital humanists team plays a key role as the leader of WP6, where we coordinate the development of innovative multiplatform features. We also support interface testing, discovery services, tool development, sustainability, and community outreach.
- What is the most exciting aspect of your contribution to LUMEN, and how does it align with your organisation’s mission or values?
Leading WP6 “Multiplatform Innovative Features” is the most exciting part of our work. We support development of tools to enhance content discovery across disciplines, including metasearch systems, domain-specific chatbots, research metrics, visualizations, and software catalogues. This aligns with our digital humanities expertise and open science goals.
- LUMEN is all about interdisciplinary collaboration. How do you envision the project transforming the way research is conducted?
LUMEN is expected to transform research by integrating four scientific domains through interoperable platforms and AI-powered discovery tools. We aim to break down disciplinary barriers by enabling seamless access to diverse data via interdisciplinary metasearch and chatbots, enrich analysis with advanced visualizations and metrics, and enhance research productivity by facilitating efficient knowledge sharing and reuse across fields.
- Looking ahead to 2027 and beyond, what impact do you hope the LUMEN project will have on the broader research community and beyond?
We expect LUMEN to enrich the European Open Science Cloud by integrating its community and services, enabling cost-effective data management. Its federated platforms and AI tools like AIDA will enhance interoperability, accelerate discovery, and support collaboration, creating a lasting impact on research and innovation.
