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