This year, 2023, has been declared the Year of Open Science. This is why, for the first time, over 100 open science practitioners and policymakers gathered at CERN’s Globe of Science and Innovation from 10 to 14 July. Co-organised by CERN, Europe’s leading particle physics laboratory, and NASA, the USA’s largest scientific agency, it brought together experts to discuss and learn how scientific bodies can promote and accelerate the adoption of open science. Over 70 different institutes were represented from five different continents.
In the context of the global challenges, it has never been a more appropriate time to push for a way of doing science that is more open and collaborative. While NASA and CERN are both large scientific organisations with already-developed open science policies, many attendees of the conference came from institutes that are just beginning to bring these values to the forefront of their organisations. However, the summit offered an opportunity for all to learn from each other and harmonise open science practices across borders.
The conference itself consisted of daily talks, each focused on a different aspect of open science. Those plenary talks and panel discussions were broadcasted to 200 registered remote participants. Crucially, the afternoons were reserved for more hands-on workshops and for opportunities for representatives from different institutions to dive into how open science works in action, according to their own specific laws, limitations and sensitivities.
While it is the first of its kind, this summit marks the beginning of a work in progress: a new era where open, FAIR, efficient and collaborative science can be practised in the same way across borders and disciplines. The team hope to follow up with the participants in six months’ time to see how open science has been implemented in their institutes.
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