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Wissenschaft
Two new representatives at Freie Universität Berlin are tasked with promoting the free distribution of academic knowledge
In addition to the existing position of open access representative, Freie Universität Berlin has now appointed an open science representative – one of the first universities in Germany to do so. Both positions are aimed at promoting the free distribution of academic knowledge in research and civil society. The representatives will have an impact across the university, supporting members of Freie Universität in integrating the principles of open access and open science into their research, teaching, and studies.
Building on the official motto of Freie Universität Berlin (Veritas, Iustitia, Libertas), the representatives will also act as an interface between the university and wider society, working to sustainably promote the free distribution and use of academic knowledge in a time that is increasingly marked by disinformation campaigns and fake news.
Frank Fischer, professor of digital humanities at Freie Universität Berlin’s Department of Philosophy and Humanities, officially took up the post of open science representative on January 21, 2025. The newly created position will allow him to represent the principles and values of open science in research and teaching across the university, as well as to develop them further. The new role aims to make a direct contribution toward the societal acceptance and informed use of academic knowledge by consolidating transparency and reproducibility as cornerstones of good research practice. In addition to promoting more open research practices, contributing to research evaluations, and developing new strategic goals, Fischer will work together with Freie Universität’s Open Science Working Group to advocate for more open research infrastructures, an open commitment to societal groups, and open dialogue with other systems of knowledge.
Dennis Mischke, North American studies scholar and head of the University Library’s Research and Publication Services department, will be taking on the position of open access representative. The position was first created in 2012. At Freie Universität Berlin, the open access representative is tasked with ensuring that academic publications, research data, and – increasingly – research software are freely available and reusable for researchers at the university. This means that Mischke will be working together with researchers to increase efficiency and accelerate research and innovation cycles, to provide an academically sound, evidence-based, and wide-ranging supply of information, and to ensure more transparency and integrity with regard to how taxpayer money is spent.
Freie Universität Berlin can look back on almost two decades of commitment to providing open access to academic knowledge. For example, it signed the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities in 2006. The university then adopted its first open access policy in 2008, which was followed by a comprehensive open access strategy in 2018 and an expanded, updated version of the original open access policy in 2021 that features specific guidelines for promoting open-access publications. The university also published its Research Data Policy at this time, which regulates how research data are to be handled and encourages researchers to make their data findable, accessible, and reusable. In addition, the Open-Access-Büro Berlin, which receives funding from the Senate Department for Higher Education and Research, Health and Long-Term Care and coordinates open research across Berlin, has been located at Freie Universität’s University Library since it was founded in 2016. By creating and filling the positions of open science representative and open access representative, Freie Universität Berlin is sending a clear signal when it comes to promoting transparency and free access to knowledge. By actively investing in these issues, the university is paving the way for an informed, enlightened society.
Dr. Julian Vuorimäki, Open Access and Academic Publishing team leader, Research and Publication Services Department, University Library, Freie Universität Berlin, Email: vuorimaeki@ub.fu-berlin.de
http://More information about open access at Freie Universität Berlin:https://www.fu-berlin.de/sites/open_access/index.html
http://More information about open science at Freie Universität Berlin:https://www.fu-berlin.de/sites/open-science/
Prof. Frank Fischer (Open Science representative) and Dr. Dennis Mischke (Open Access representative ...
Eric M - Encre Noire/privat
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