This episode of Inside EOSC features Julien Homo, CEO and Data Architect of the French SME Foxcub, and the technical coordinator for the LUMEN project.
Julien discusses his transition from large private-sector industrial environments to the collaborative world of European public research, sharing how his background in knowledge representation and artificial intelligence informs his work in building large-scale technical infrastructures.
We delve into the technical heart of LUMEN, exploring the concept of the Data Mesh, a decentralised framework designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration without the need for a single, massive central platform. Julien explains how this model allows diverse scientific communities, from molecular dynamics to social sciences, to share data products and services while maintaining their own specialised tools and cultures. The conversation also clarifies the distinction between data meshes and knowledge graphs, and why translating research data into \"triples\" is essential for connecting different discovery platforms across the EOSC ecosystem.
Beyond the technical architecture, Julien reflects on the cultural and operational differences between private industry and public consortia. He examines the challenges of managing 21 partners and 7 million euros in public funding to create white-label solutions that remain flexible enough to adapt across different domains. Finally, we discuss the evolving role of LLMs and AI in knowledge exploration, the importance of \"openness\" for commercial innovation, and the story behind the name Foxcub.
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