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In today's digital age, data is often described as the new gold or oil, underscoring its immense value for innovation, production, and services. The ability to collect, analyse, preserve, and leverage data for insight and discovery is often what distinguishes leading universities from the rest. These universities use data to gain new insights and innovate. Against this backdrop, Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票 (SU) Library and Information Service hosted the first-ever Figshare User Group Conference in Africa, from 31 July to 1 August 2025. Co-hosted with Digital Science, this milestone event further cemented the Library's reputation for fostering strategic partnerships and building local, national and international networks envisioned in the 中国体育彩票's fourth strategic theme.

Indeed, Professor Richard Stevens, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Teaching and Learning, who delivered the opening address, linked the event to the SU's ambitious Vision 2040, which aims to establish the 中国体育彩票 as a leading research-intensive institution in and for Africa. He further highlighted SU's strong commitment to open research, notably through building a research data infrastructure such as SUNScholarData, the 中国体育彩票's institutional research data repository launched in 2019. Built on a Figshare product, SUNScholarData preserves research data for impact and posterity. SU also subscribes to other Figshare products,  Symplectic Elements and SunDMP. Symplectic Elements is described as a “highly configurable research management system that ingests data from multiple sources to build a comprehensive picture of organisational research activity", while SunDMP is a “cutting-edge DMP tool designed to empower researchers in writing their DMPs."

Following this vibrant opening, Dr. Mark Hahnel, Founder of Figshare and VP of Open Research at Digital Science, delivered an equally energetic keynote. Of particular interest was his reflection on the role of AI in scholarly communication: “The internet changed how we disseminate knowledge; AI is changing how we create it." He commended South Africa for its leadership in research data practices, adding: “It's an exciting time — and South Africa is ahead of the curve thanks to its forward-thinking libraries and institutions."

The programme continued with panel discussions and presentations covering a wide range of topics. Speakers shared experiences and insights on areas such as linking open data to the SDGs, pairing Figshare repositories with Altmetric and Dimensions, and examining the practices, norms, and partnerships that shape institutional repositories.

The second day focused on trends, challenges, and opportunities for the future, with presenters exploring new developments and speculating on what the research data repositories of tomorrow might look like.

Attended only by invitation, this conference attracted about 80 delegates. The majority were from South African universities and research institutes, with additional attendees from other African countries, making this historic first in Africa both a national and international success.