On February 9, the University Council has approved with the Tilburg University Action Plan on Open Science. Tilburg University wants to be a front runner in the international Open Science movement. The action plan therefore aims to develop activities to stimulate researchers to bring Open Science into practice. We had a short talk with Hylke Annema, author of the action plan, to give some more details.
Why is an action plan for Open Science important for Tilburg University?
With Open Science we can make the results of our scientific research accessible to all levels of society, not only academic, but also amateur and professional. This is in line with the university’s motto Understanding Society. Open Science also aims to make the academic process more transparent which is good for reproducibility of research, but is also a necessity when it comes to research integrity. We don’t have a tradition of Open Science at Tilburg University, that’s why it is good and necessary to put more focus on it in the coming years.
What concrete actions are in the plan?
We will start a number of Open Science labs. These are incubator projects, with a duration of four years, in which we aim to gain maximum results with small tryouts. When a lab has proven to be successful, the results can be used by other researchers or departments. TILT, the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society, will launch their own Law & Technology Open Access journal. This will involve a lot of work, as the traditional publishing model is still so dominant. If we succeed however, other departments could also launch their own journal based on the experiences of TILT. Another lab will focus on Open Educational Materials, for example by sharing slides used in classrooms. These materials could potentially replace expensive text books, thereby making education more accessible for everyone.
How can researchers participate?
This spring, we will launch the informal Tilburg University Open Science Network. Anyone interested to learn more about Open Science or to discuss how to change the research practice is invited to join. We offer an open and informal setting without hierarchy to discover how to leverage open to improve your research.
What if someone has a great idea to improve Open Science which is not in the plan?
First of all, just start your idea, implement it in your own research or education or share it with colleagues. You can also contact me to see if we can work it out into a larger project. We have a small budget available for pilots and incubator projects, so please reach out with your idea, and we will discuss your options.
Any last words?
The action plan can be found on: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1182436. I hope researchers will read it and that it will inspire them to engage in open research practices. Remember: science without open is just anecdote!
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