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We invite you to contribute to the newsletter with your own news. They can be Open Science events, conferences, workshops, open positions, and relevant news related to Open Science projects or mandates taking place in Switzerland and abroad. Send us the English title and text of your news item to at the latest by the first Monday of each month (with the exception of January and August, when no newsletter is published).
With thanks and best regards,
The Open Science Team of swissuniversities
FROM THE OPEN SCIENCE PROGRAMME
Open Access Call for Projects: Open Action Lines for 2023
The Open Science Program of swissuniversities welcomes applications from eligible higher education institutions focusing on the following action lines by Wednesday, 31 May 2023.
- Participation to international initiatives
- Alternative forms of publication
- Research assessment
- Setting up of shared services & e-infrastructures
More information regarding the Open Access Implementation Plan, the relevant action lines and the requirements are available in the document "Open Action Lines for the 2023 Open Access Call for Projects".
All relevant information about this call is published under this link and in the document section located on the right side of the website.
You can find the contacts of Open Access officers at Swiss higher education institutions on our website. If there are any changes at your institution, please .
News from our (Reforming) Research Assessment Initiatives
swissuniversities signed the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment in September 2022. By signing the Agreement, swissuniversities supports that evaluation criteria for research are further developed, focus on quality and impact, and recognise the diversity of research activities, practices and outcomes. Furthermore, the Open Science programme issued calls for the implementation of the action line on research assessment of the Swiss National Action Plan on Open Access.
HI-FRAME (University of Zurich) is one of the projects funded in the action line on research assessment. In line with the HI-FRAME’s stated aims and time frame, the project is now being applied on a pilot basis in professorial hiring processes at the University of Zurich. The purpose of doing so is to ensure that the applicants’ Open Science activities receive due consideration in the recruitment process, alongside other relevant aspects of their profiles. This is a main feature of the UZH Open Science Policy, which was adopted in 2021, and also reflects current European and international developments around the reform of research assessment.
HI-FRAME purposely takes a broad view of the kinds of scholarly contributions that matter in a hiring decision, because narrow definitions of excellence do not create an academic culture that promotes research quality in the long term. This is also an opportunity to lift barriers to inclusive research careers, which is a hallmark of sustainable research ecosystem.
HI-FRAME is co-funded by the Open Science programme of swissuniversities and concludes on 31 August 2023. Project leaders are Dr. Mihaela Falub and Dr. Karin Gilland Lutz.
Further projects were recently approved for funding in the research assessment action line by the Delegation Open Science: Openness Score (FHGR, UniFR, SWITCH), Swiss Year of Scientometrics SYoS (ETH Library, ETH Zurich) and Towards Open Bibliometric Indicators TOBI (ETH Library, ETH Zurich).
PLATO Study Report on Diamond Open Access Journals in Switzerland is now published
From March to September 2022, the «Platinum Open Access Funding» Project (PLATO), together with the Bern University of Applied Sciences, conducted a study on the landscape of Diamond Open Access journals in Switzerland. Inspired by the international «OA Diamond Journals Study» (2021), the PLATO Study provides the first overview of the Swiss Diamond Open Access publishing ecosystem and gives insight into its workflows, infrastructures, business models, opportunities and challenges. Diamond (or Platinum) Open Access refers to publishing and accessing scholarly publications without charges for authors and readers.
The findings from the PLATO Study have now been published on Zenodo:
Report: https://zenodo.org/record/7461728#.Y7bbB4LMI-Q
Data Set: https://zenodo.org/record/7461754#.Y7bbd4LMI-Q
Based on this report, workshops and roundtable discussions with all stakeholders will be organised in 2023 to explore sustainable funding options for Diamond Open Access in Switzerland. https://www.news.uzh.ch/de/articles/news/2023/Diamond-Open-Access.html
On February 23rd, 2023, we invited Dr Daniela Hahn to present the study in the webinar «Diamond OA Publishing in Switzerland: Where we stand now and the road ahead». See ‘webinar’ section below.
For more info about the PLATO project and the study please contact: Dr. Daniela Hahn, daniela.hahn@clutteruzh.ch, the PLATO project manager at the University of Zurich.
swissuniversities and Springer Nature conclude second Open Access Agreement
swissuniversities has signed a second Open Access agreement with Springer Nature on behalf of Swiss universities and libraries. The agreement now also includes Open Access publications in Nature Branded journals and brings Switzerland one step closer to the vision formulated in the Open Access Strategy that all publicly funded scientific #publications should be freely accessible online.
The agreement with Springer Nature on the two portfolios Springer Compact and Nature Branded came into force on 1 January 2023 and is valid until 31 December 2025.
Further information: https://www.swissuniversities.ch/en/news/swissuniversities-and-springer-nature-conclude-second-open-access-agreement
WEBINARS & TRAININGS
swissuniversities Webinar:
Diamond OA Publishing in Switzerland: Where we stand now and the road ahead
Online webinar | Thursday, February 23, 2023, 4–5 pm
► Register here for this online event (free participation) by Monday, 20 February 2023.
Since the publication of the «OA Diamond Journal Study» in 2021 and the «Action Plan for Diamond Open Access» in March 2022, the movement towards community-led publishing that is free for both readers and authors has gained strong momentum, providing tail wind for discussions of alternative forms for open access publishing that highlight the limits and inherent inequalities of current models.
The «Platinum Open Access Funding» project (PLATO) is an initiative of six Swiss universities (University of Zurich, University of Bern, University of Geneva, University of Neuchâtel, ETH Zurich, Zurich University of Arts), co-financed by swissuniversities, to strengthen Diamond open access publishing in Switzerland.
From April to September 2022, PLATO in collaboration with the Bern University of Applied Sciences has undertaken a study on the current landscape of Diamond OA journals, its scope, infrastructures, challenges, and opportunities. Based on the findings of this study, the PLATO project sets out to devise sustainable funding models for existing and upcoming journals as well as strategies for further developing Diamond OA publishing in Switzerland.
In this webinar we invited to Dr Daniela Hahn to give an overview of the key findings of the PLATO study. The webinar will also provide space to discuss opportunities and challenges ahead towards more equitable, affordable, and diverse scholarly publishing.
The PLATO Study Report was published in January 2023:
Report: https://zenodo.org/record/7461728#.Y7bbB4LMI-Q
Data Set: https://zenodo.org/record/7461754#.Y7bbd4LMI-Q
Please contact us for more information regarding the webinar.
Trainings:
DevPro training – Establish a Data Management Plan
The OLOS Association’s team (https://olos.swiss/) is pleased to announce a new DevPro Research Data Management training, dedicated to DMP creation. OLOS is the main deliverable of the Data Life-Cycle Management project, from swissuniversities P-5 Program. Its portal allows the long term preservation of any kind of research data and documentation, and their access and reuse management.
This training is addressed to researchers, PhD students, research advisors, librarians, and opened to any person working with research data.
For more information regarding this training and for registration, please feel free to click here.
Other Webinars:
Open Science for Arts, Design and Music
As the second year of the Open Science for Arts, Design and Music (OS-ADM) research project begins, the project team is pleased to launch the 2023 training programme. The webinar series will look into Open Access from different perspectives, with a focus on copyright, multimedia and cultural heritage.
OS-ADM (2022-24) promotes the implementation of the ‘Open Access action plan 2021–2024’ through the publication of guidelines, the organisation of training and the negotiation with publishers in the disciplinary fields of arts, design and music. The project is led by SUPSI (Ticino) with the partners HES-SO (ECAL, Lausanne; HEAD – Genève; EDHEA, Valais), ZHdK (Zurich), HSLU Hochschule Luzern – Design & Kunst (Lucerne), BFH (Bern), FHNW (Basel). It is co-funded by swissuniversities, with the involvement of DARIAH-EU Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities, SARN Swiss Artistic Research Network, SDN Swiss Design Network, CCDigitalLaw and Creative Commons.
Title: Creative Commons and Open Science for Arts, Design and Music
Convenor: Brigitte Vézina, Creative Commons International
Dates: Session 1, 08.02.2023; Session 2, 08.03.2023; Session 3, 05.04.2023
Time: 11.00-12.30 CET
Location: Session 1: Link to the webinar active during the event
Session 2: Link to the webinar active during the event
Session 3: Link to the webinar active during the event
Title: Copyright and Open Access in Switzerland
Convenor: Suzanna Marazza, USI-CCDigitalLaw
Date: 15.02.2023
Time: 11.00-12.30 CET
Location: Link to the webinar active during the event
Title: A conversation with ProLitteris
Convenors: Noa Bacchetta, lawyer; Philip Küble, ProLitteris
Date: 19.04.2023
Time: 11.00-12.30 CET
Location: Link to the webinar active during the event
For more information visit the following page.
To register and for further details, please get in touch with chiara.barbieri@cluttersupsi.ch
ADDITIONAL ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS
“Contributing to an Open Science Culture” An Interview with Dr. phil. Sebastian W. Hoggenmüller
In last year’s November newsletter, we covered the awarding of the University of Lucerne’s Open Science Prize 2022 to Dr Sebastian W. Hoggenmüller. A comprehensive interview with Sebastian W. Hoggenmüller about his motivation for advocating Open Science and his respective projects is now available online. The interview particularly delves into some of Hoggenmüller’s projects, one of which embodies forms of citizen science and knowledge transfer, particularly engaging young scientists and aimed at fostering social inclusion.
Click here to read the interview.
Swiss Citizen Science Conference 2023
CitSciHelvetia is the Swiss Citizen Science Conference. CitSciHelvetia connects Swiss stakeholders in Citizen Science and participatory research in general, promoting the exchange of experiences and shared learning between the three language and cultural regions. It serves as the platform for professional exchange with Science et Cité hosting the second Swiss Citizen Science Conference.
CitSciHelvetia'23 will take place on March 29 and 30, 2023 at Landhaus Solothurn under the motto “Citizen Science – Making impact participatory!”.
Fore more information visit the the CitSciHelvetia'23 website.
OPEN POSITION
Open Science Specialist - Open Access | HEP Vaud
Start date: 1 April 2023 or to be agreed
Workload: 60 %
Duration of the contract: unlimited
Your main activities consist in implementing the strategy and recommendations of swissuniversities in the field of Open Access (OA). You will develop national and international expertise in OA and Diamond OA in order to advise the Executive Committee on its Open Science strategy.
Fore more information, please visit the following page.