Event Report – Fostering Change at Leiden University Library

Event Report – Fostering Change at Leiden University Library

On 31st August 2022, INOS project partners joined together with local Open Education and Open Science advocates for the event Fostering Change: Challenges and Opportunities of Integrating Open and Citizen Science in Higher Education, held in person at Leiden University Library. The event was a final opportunity for the INOS project, which concluded it work at the end of August, to share project results and determine how INOS results will be sustained in future activities.

Session 1 began with a warm welcome to the University by Laurents Sesink, Head of the Centre for Digital Scholarship at Leiden University. Andrej Vrcon, Head of International Projects at LIBER Europe, introduced participants to INOS, followed by four lightening talks by INOS project partners Julieta Barrenechea (Euskampus Fundazioa/University of Bordeaux), Amalia De Götzen (Aalborg University), Katerina Zourou (Web2Learn) and Azusa Nakata (University of Oulu). Their talks discussed recommendations on the social role of HEIs in regards to OS, guides on fostering Open Innovation at universities, the role of Citizen Science in academia-society relations and student-centred active learning approaches.

Take a look at the speaker slides for Session 1 here.

View the event recording here: Session 1: https://weblectures.leidenuniv.nl/Mediasite/Play/9f1549c9c2ac41d9a157b1f52b8338ab1d

 

Azusa Nakata explains the results of the University of Oulu’s work as part of the INOS project

The Knowledge Café was an opportunity for participants to interact with INOS project partners, learn more about their work and debate and discuss project outputs. Participants joined together in the Centre for Digital Scholarship and circulated around ‘stations’ where project partners shared materials and answered questions on the topic of their lightening talk. They were then given the opportunity to give their views on each topic, which were collected on sticky noted and discussed together at the close of the session.

Here is a selection of participants’ thoughts, questions and feedback:

 ‘Open Science as content and Open Science as an educational method – there are many opportunities’

‘How can we create convenient and easily accessible platforms to share materials from OS/CS/OI activities?’

‘Citizen Science as a new service of academic libraries?’

‘Find a faculty/department that can support the change in curricula.’

For the closing session, we looked beyond the INOS project to the initiatives and projects that are continuing the work of integrating OS/CS into higher education. Margaret Gold delivered an inspiring keynote speech outlining the potted history of the Citizen Science Lab at Leiden University, and how to create enabling environments within institutions to support the development of OS/CS approaches. INOS partners then delivered some practical examples of how they were implementing the lessons learnt during the project in their institutions. Finally, we were joined by Simon Worthington (LIBER Citizen Science Working Group) and Alisa Martek (representing the CeOS_SE Project) who showcased how Open and Citizen Science are being furthered in research libraries (through the Working Groups’s Guide for Citizen Science in Research Libraries) and in Southeastern Europe (through the work of the CeOS_SE Project).

Take a look at the speakers’ slides here.

View the event recoding (unedited) here: Session 2: https://weblectures.leidenuniv.nl/Mediasite/Play/6cb05cba25db44bcb2813e3a55ada8221d

To conclude three years of integrating Open and Citizen Science in Higher Education Learning Approaches, INOS partners and participants enjoyed a celebratory lunch in the Hortus Botanicus in Leiden. The fruitful discussions and connections made during this event will help sustain project outputs in higher education institutions, as we continue to collaborate, communicate and advocate for a more open future.