Global Dynamics in Responsible Research
A Two-day Virtual Symposium on December 1-2, 2022 hosted by the Einstein Foundation Berlin
Summary
Researchers worldwide convened to explore responsible research practice and culture on a global scale. The symposium focused primarily on Early Career Researchers (ECRs), recognizing their pivotal role in shaping the future research landscape, facilitating dialogue between scientists from diverse backgrounds, bridging gaps in Open Access and Open Science approaches. Consequently, the event was orchestrated by ECRs themselves.
Global Participation
Over 40 countries, including Algeria, Argentina, Jordan, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates, were represented, underscoring the global significance of responsible research practices.
Explore Inspiring Talks

Opening & Keynote: "Knowledge Equity and Socially Responsible Research" by Leslie Chan, University of Toronto Scarborough
Associate Professor in the Department of Global Development Studies and the director of the Knowledge Equity Lab at the University of Toronto Scarborough



Short Talk:"Co-creating and Teaching Open Science from the Global South" by Paz Míguez & Laura Ascenzi, MetaDocencia
MetaDocencia is an inclusive and collaborative community that improves education by empowering instructors from underserved countries.
Paz Míguez, Lead Institutional and Teaching
Laura Ascenzi, Lead Communication and Community


Short Talk: "Open Infrastructure for whom?" by Emmy Tsang, Open Life Science
Open Infrastructure (IOI), a non-profit initiative dedicated to improving funding and resourcing for open technologies and systems for research and scholarship
Emmy Tsang, Engagement Lead

Keynote: "Democratizing research through open access" by Joy Owango, Founding Director of TCC Africa
Director and Co-founder (Science and Scientific Communication) and board member of AfricArxiv - The free preprint service for African scientists

Short Talk: "Open Science, done wrong, will compound inequities" by Tony Ross-Hellauer, Know-Center, Graz
Postdoctoral researcher in Open Science in the Social Computing research group, Know-Center, Graz, Austria

Short Talk: "eLife’s new publishing model" by Damian Pattinson, eLife (from 10'17'')
Executive Director, eLife, a not-for-profit, peer-reviewed, open access, science publisher for the biomedical and life sciences

Keynote: "NASA's Transform to Open Science (TOPS) initiative" by Chelle Genteman, Head of NASA’s TOPS program
Program Scientist in National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Transform to Open Science (TOPS) Initiative
Meet the Organising Team
A diverse international team of ECRs, carefully chosen from 128 eLife Ambassadors via an open call, aimed to represent various perspectives within the life science community across different continents.

Verena Haage
Postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Translational and Computational Neuroimmunology at Columbia University

Batool Almarzouq
Computational biologist affiliated with the University of Liverpool in the UK and KAIMRC in Saudi Arabia

Renato Augusto Corrêa dos Santos
Post-doctoral researcher in the field of bioinformatics at University of Campinas

Nalaka Wijekoon
Neuroscientist affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Maastricht University

Lamis Yahia Mohamed Elkheir
Pharmaceutical chemistry lecturer at the faculty of Pharmacy in the University of Khartoum

Samuel Eziuzor
Postdoc at the Applied Microbial Systems Ecology Lab of the School of Engineering, University of British Columbia
Outcome
Building on the gained perspectives, the symposium organizers together with the symposium participants aim to formulate recommendations for researchers, publishers, and funders. The symposium was covered in a career feature on the open-science movement on 22 January 2024 in Nature.
Supporters & Partners
The idea to place the event’s organizational responsibility in the hands of early career researchers themselves – the symposium’s target group – came from Ulrich Dirnagl, Founding Director of the QUEST Center at the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité – Universitätsmedizin and Einstein Foundation Award Secretary. Further support came from the following team:
Verena Heise
Freelancer, Neuroscientist, Epidemiologist and Molecular Biologist
Ulrike Pannasch
Coordinator Einstein Foundation Award for Promoting Quality in Research
Ulrich Dirnagl
Director BIH QUEST Center at Charité, Secretary Einstein Foundation Award for Promoting Quality in Research
Ailis O’Caroll
Community Manager at eLife Sciences Publications
Emilia Böhm
Administrator and Liaison Manager, Oxford in Berlin
Sibylle Hinze
Head of Center for Open and Responsible Research, Objective 3: Advancing Research Quality and Value, Berlin University Alliance
Nele Albrecht
Scientific Coordinator for Research Quality in Objective 3: Advancing Research Quality and Value, Berlin University Alliance
Claudia Kirchert
Communication Manager, BIH QUEST Center
Partners



