They talked about open science
On the 29th of September, the Library of the Silesian University of Technology hosted a conference entitled “Open Science Models in the Transformation of the Scientific Communication System”. The Rector of the Silesian University of Technology Prof. Marek Pawełczyk took part in it, among other speakers.
The initiator of the event was the Director of the Centre of Technology and Computational Sciences of the Silesian University of Technology, Prof. Marek Niezgódka, head of Pl.ON and PWNiB projects, which aim to create space for scientific communication.
- Science is for society and it has obligations to society – it is a trend that has been dominating on an international scale for several years. This is the most important priority of the idea of open science. The research is financed mainly from public funds and should be widely available, without restrictions and commercial conditions – explains Prof. Marek Niezgódka.
Rector Marek Pawełczyk took part in the official opening of the conference. The event was also attended by, among others, the Rector of the Silesian University of Technology in the years 2016-2024 and the Honorary President of CRASP Prof. Arkadiusz Mężyk, Chairman of CRASP in the years 2012-2016 Prof. Dr Hab. Wiesław Banyś and Prof. Dr Hab. Zbigniew Marciniak from the University of Warsaw.
- This is a great opportunity to talk about how to use the achievements of science and share one’s own research results so that others can develop them. This undoubtedly promotes progress, especially as our research is financed from public funds – said Rector Marek Pawełczyk. - Of course, there are a few issues to be solved, including the problem of financing. Open publishing is very expensive – the price of one article in the open access mode may correspond to the cost of a two-week internship in a foreign institution. Project funding institutions expect publication in this model, but there is not yet an appropriate support mechanism. There is a lot to do in the area of open science, but the most important thing is to build environmental awareness and engage in discussions.
During the conference – in which dozens of people also participated online – the assumptions of the Pl.ON and PWNiB projects were presented. Open publication in the sciences, technical sciences, humanities, and social sciences was discussed. The standards of the All-European Academies (ALLEA) and the European University Association (EUA) concerning open science were also presented and lectures on open publishing in Poland were given. The participants could also listen to the discussion panel entitled “Challenges of Open Science and its Open Communication Patterns.”
– Publishing is a form of contact between science and society, which is why openness, which we discussed during the conference, is of particular importance. Commercialization should take place only after the social mission has been fulfilled. The aim of the event was to show how the whole system of scientific communication can change: publishing, sharing data and interacting with the public - concluded Prof. Marek Niezgódka.
