Research Data Yoda
On Thursday 2 November, due to a combination of human error and a technical failure, part of the research data was deleted in the Yoda environment of the Faculty of Geosciences of Utrecht University (geo.yoda.uu.nl). During the last few days, Utrecht University has been researching which data and researchers have been affected and which data can be restored. Unfortunately, it is already clear that some of the deleted data is permanently lost. Other servers of Yoda, including the version available through Surf, have not been affected by this incident.
Nevertheless, the incident not only affects researchers at Utrecht University, but also researchers at other organisations collaborating with researchers at the Faculty of Geosciences. All those affected (inside and outside our university) were informed around 11am on Friday 10 November. Researchers who did not receive a message were not affected.
Utrecht University is aware that the impact of this incident is very significant. It might have direct consequences for affected researchers. Helping these researchers as much as possible is our highest priority. For those affected, we will look individually at how they will be supported in the coming period to deal with the consequences.
Those affected can contact info.rdm@uu.nl with all their questions. These include both technical questions about the recovery of data and questions about the practical consequences of this incident (think: delay of research). The colleagues at Research Data Management Support will do their best to answer questions as quickly as possible or put those affected in touch with the appropriate colleague from another department.
Utrecht University will investigate the cause of this incident, and how such a situation can be prevented into the future.
Access to GEO Yoda
We expect that from Monday 13 November at 3 p.m. the Yoda environment of the faculty of Geosciences of Utrecht University will be partially available again; possibly only on a read-only access basis. This will not yet be the case for all users. Read-only access shows which files have been restored in any case. Whether or not you have access to the system says nothing about whether you have been affected by this incident and therefore lost data permanently. Even if you do not see your data restored now, your data may be restored at a later date. The Data Archive Geosciences (day.yoda.uu.nl) has not been affected and is safe and accessible.
More information
On this web page, we will keep researchers and others updated on the situation.
Frequently asked questions
Added on 14 Nov:
Technical details (added on 29 Nov):
What is Yoda?
To store, share, reuse and publish research data, Utrecht University developed Yoda in 2015. This data management system allows researchers to manage data at all stages of their research. Researchers can also collaborate within Yoda with other researchers, both inside and outside the university. This fits well with one of the pillars of Utrecht University's strategic plan: collaborating across borders. Yoda is now also being used by five other Dutch universities.