Insights from the Conference “Advancing Open Science: The Barcelona Declaration and Open Research Information”

On 6 December, Arqus colleagues took centre stage at an inspiring hybrid conference hosted at Mykolas Romeris University in Vilnius. The event, titled Advancing Open Science: The Barcelona Declaration and Open Research Information, brought together leaders from three prominent university alliances—Arqus, Transform4Europe (T4EU), and the European Reform University Alliance (ERUA)—to explore the future of open science and research collaboration across Europe.

The conference opened with remarks from Prof Dr Inga Žalėnienė, Rector of Mykolas Romeris University, and Tadas Juknevičius, Head of the Division of Science at the Ministry of Education, Science, and Sport. Their speeches emphasized the increasing importance of open science principles in fostering collaboration, innovation, and accessibility in European research.

Prof Dr Ludo Waltman from Leiden University in the Netherlands presented the principles of the Barcelona Declaration, a groundbreaking document advocating for open access to research information. Prof. Waltman outlined the Declaration’s vision to dismantle barriers to knowledge-sharing and promote transparency and equity in research practices worldwide.

The session continued with an in-person presentation by Dr Eugenijus Stumbrys from the Research Council of Lithuania. He unveiled the latest Lithuanian recommendations for open access and discussed their implications for national research information systems. This update provided a compelling case for aligning national policies with broader European initiatives.

The later sessions highlighted how university alliances are driving the open science agenda with Dr Hildrun Walter from the University of Graz, who shared insights from the Arqus Open Science Ambassador Network, underscoring its role in fostering grassroots engagement with open science practices. 

“Defining common goals in an alliance of several universities is a challenge. However, the different views and diverse experiences enable us to take solid steps toward Open Science integration on the basis of joint reflection. As ambassadors, we want to raise awareness of Open Science and share best practices for its integration into our institutions. One initiative we are currently working on is a prize for the best practices of doctoral students in their publications”, said Hildrun.

Other speakers at the conference talked about strategies for improving research data management across institutions, and efforts to promote diamond open-access publishing models. One of the presentations was delivered by Dr Vincas Grigas from Vilnius University, who provided an in-person demonstration of integrating the Research Organisation Registry into journal metadata systems, demonstrating its practical applications.