Community-Powered Data Rescue: My Experience at the Data Rescue Hackathon
On August 7, 2025, I joined the Data Rescue Hackathon at the LMU Open Science Center in Munich – a lively, hands-on gathering dedicated to protecting at-risk scientific datasets through community-powered infrastructure.
The event kicked off with an inspiring talk from Henrik Schönemann (HU Berlin), one of the initiators of Safeguar.de. He made a strong case for why decentralizing backups isn’t just a technical choice – it’s an act of stewardship for public knowledge.
What We Worked On (2-3 hours in the afternoon)
Throughout the afternoon, participants:
- Installed BitTorrent clients and set up machines as seeding nodes to keep backups alive and accessible
- Breathed new life into old hardware – old Dell laptops and external drives donated by other researchers – by installing lightweight Linux systems and archival tools
My Takeaways
What struck me most was the diversity of skills in the room – beautiful community of tinkerers who have background in psychology, computational neuroscience, or physics (or content creators!!!). This wasn’t just for coders, but there were people who just wanted to help. The atmosphere was equal parts hackathon and community workshop.
I personally enjoyed:
- Seeing how distributed networks can make data censorship or loss much harder
- Meeting people who care deeply about preserving not just data, but the integrity of science
- Tinkering!!!
Why It Matters
In an age where datasets can disappear overnight – due to politics, policy changes, or natural disasters – the loss can be as irreversible as the burning of the ancient Library of Alexandria. Projects like Safeguar.de stand as our modern firebreak, ensuring that knowledge isn’t lost to neglect or circumstance. The tools are here, the community is ready, and all it takes is a laptop, some curiosity, and a willingness to help.
If you’re curious about joining in, the full event resources are here: Safeguar.de Hackathon GitHub.