National Open Science Festival in Groningen

On 24 October, the National Open Science Festival will take place in Groningen, hosted by the UG and UMCG. At this annual event, researchers and other interested parties can learn more about open science, exchange experiences, and find inspiration for applying open science in daily practice. The programme committee is co-chaired by Casper Albers and Ana Ranitovic, bringing together both academic and policy perspectives in a balanced way.

What is open science (OS)?

‘OS is a movement aimed at making scientific research and education accessible to a wide audience, in the broadest sense possible. It means that research funded by public money should be accessible to everyone - not locked behind paywalls. When we share data, publications, and educational materials openly, we accelerate scientific progress and enable faster responses to global challenges like pandemics or climate change. It also makes science more trustworthy through transparency: others can verify findings and build on solid foundations. Open science democratizes knowledge and allows society to benefit from research.’

What is the current OS situation in Groningen?

‘Some parts of OS have landed very well at the UG, which was among the first Dutch universities to launch Open Educational Resources (OER) and an open access university press. Nearly 100% of the UG’s published papers can now be accessed for free by the tax payers. This is good, as it allows us to spend our energy on areas that are still in development as well as on teaching our students the open and FAIR way of working from the start.’

Are you happy with the way OS is developing in Groningen?

Casper: ‘Yes, I am. We are not there yet, but I see broad commitment in the UG community - from teachers and researchers to the board - to make it happen. We make good progress, and at various points the UG is a national leader.’

Ana: ‘When I take a step back and look at how far we have come as a community, the progress is truly remarkable. However, there is still important work ahead. Strengthening the infrastructures that enable open and FAIR practices, facilitating interactions with society, and embedding openness through appropriate recognition and reward will remain key priorities in the years to come.’

How would you describe the cooperation across the university?

‘The driving force behind OS are bottom-up grassroots movements. The first of these movements were already interdisciplinary, originating from primarily UMCG, FSE and BSS. The ensuing support from all faculties and services, the coordination from a central level via the OS Programme and University Library, and the involvement of the Open Science Community Groningen and OS Ambassadors, helps to align the different movements. We believe that it is precisely this broad base and the close collaboration between faculty and professional staff that have enabled us to make such meaningful progress. This partnership works extremely well in practice.

What do you hope and expect the result will be?

‘The OS Festival will be organized for the fifth time, now it’s our turn. It will be the first time that it’s organized in a University Medical Centre, which we are very happy with. We are very proud and honoured to be the chairs of the programme committee. Also, we have a diverse line-up of speakers, workshop organizers and poster presenters. Fortunately, we are well supported by a team that takes care of most practicalities.    

The main challenge was to set up a diverse and interesting programme. There’s so much to say about OS that it was a challenge to fit it in a one-day programme. We certainly had to kill some darlings. We hope that the 400+ participants will learn a lot from each other and take these lessons with them to their own universities, to make science and education more open throughout the country and beyond.’

More information

• National Open Science Festival
• The registration for the OS Festival has reached full capacity. However, all plenary sessions will be livestreamed.