RDA-Microsoft Information Session: Global Community Priorities for Agentic AI in Research (November 27th)
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A global conversation about how AI agents can transform research
Agentic AI systems can independently plan, reason, and act with minimal human oversight, revolutionising the research lifecycle. From literature reviews and experimental design to data analysis and publication, AI agents can make advanced research tools more widely accessible.
This session aimed to determine community priorities for agentic AI development in research.
This session was open to everyone – no AI expertise required. We welcomed researchers, students, librarians, research data or software professionals, funders, policymakers, and members working in any other part of the research ecosystem. All perspectives mattered.
Agenda (45 minutes)
Background context about agentic AI – Understanding AI agents and their potential in research
Community examples of agentic AI use in research – Real-world applications
Discussion – Sharing needs, challenges, and ideas for how and where agentic AI could have the greatest impact
Mukkesh Kumar Head of Data Management at A*STAR, Singapore
Dr Mukkesh Kumar is the Head of Data Management Platform at A*STAR, his interests are in data, software engineering and AI for biomedical informatics. Forging collaborations with the National University Hospital (NUH) in Value-based Healthcare Strategy, the Early Screening for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in a Low Risk Population (EaGeR) pilot study is conducted at NUH for the real-world deployment of early pregnancy GDM predictor AI model. Working in close partnership with Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) and Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI) global community, Dr Mukkesh Kumar is shaping Singapore’s national OMOP data standardization and standardized data analytics strategies. Dr Mukkesh Kumar has been mentoring the Data Managers at US Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School for multi-centre clinical research studies, building talent and capabilities in the global research ecosystem.
Talk title: Agentic AI for Research Data Platforms
A community report (December 2025) on priority needs and challenges
A comprehensive blueprint (2026) identifying the most important area for agentic AI development in research
Note that all of this activity is conducted under the RDA guiding principles and all the results will be openly available to the entire community on the RDA web platform.
Your Input
We invited participants to complete our survey to share their priorities and perspectives on how agentic AI can best support the research ecosystem. The survey took 15-20 minutes, participants could save their progress and return anytime, and responses helped shape the community report and final blueprint. See survey questions (pdf). The survey closed on Monday 1 December at 23:59 UTC.
This initiative is collaboratively led by the RDA and Microsoft as part of our commitment to community-driven innovation in research infrastructure.
