The conference, which will take place on 9 and 10 July 2025 at the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning in Paris, is an opportunity for NOVA University Lisbon to present the results of the OPUS Project (Open and Universal Science). The conference marks the culmination of several years of collaborative work aimed at transforming the way science is assessed and encouraged throughout Europe.
Isabel Nunes, NOVA’s Vice-Rector for Strategic Planning and Quality Management, will share the main results and successful practices implemented during the university’s participation as a pilot institution of the project.
What is the OPUS Conference?
The conference will bring together experts from universities, government agencies, and scientific institutions from across Europe to discuss the future of open science and responsible research assessment. The main focus will be on presenting the project results, sharing public policy recommendations, and demonstrating how open science practices can be integrated at institutional and national levels.
Gareth O’Neill, OPUS’s scientific coordinator, will moderate the event, which will feature renowned speakers such as Ana Persic (UNESCO), James Morris (Science Europe) and Louise Bezuidenhout (Leiden University).
Participation is free, either in person or online via Zoom, but prior registration is required: Get yourself a spot here!
NOVA’s contribution is an innovative, researcher-centred approach
Throughout the project, NOVA reinforced its commitment to open science by implementing structured actions to promote open practices among the cohort of researchers participating in the project. Alongside the execution of the project, NOVA prepared an Open Science Guide. This was developed by the NOVA CRIS group in conjunction with the Scientific Information Management Unit and was overseen by the Director and Vice-Rector of Research and Value Creation, Professor Isabel Rocha. This guide is a practical and accessible document that sets out the fundamental principles and tools to help the academic community adopt practices that align with national and European recommendations. Training sessions were also held within the scope of the project, and practices were identified to monitor open access results, thus consolidating Open Science within the institution.
Initiatives and key results within the scope of the OPUS project
- Direct support to researchers
Resources and specialised personnel (particularly from libraries) were allocated to answer questions and support the submission of data and publications in open access, thereby ensuring compliance with national and international policies.
- Integration of systems and repositories
NOVA promoted the use of the CRIS system to register and monitor open access results, thereby reinforcing institutional consistency in the registration of data, software, and publications. - Training and awareness
Workshops and training sessions were held on topics such as Creative Commons licences, copyright retention, data management and publishing in the context of open and citizen science.
- Involvement of Early Career Researchers
The participation of 15 researchers, most of whom were early in their careers, enabled us to trial measures within real research contexts and reinforce the connection between institutional policies and everyday practices.
Lessons Learned and Paths for the Future
Despite constraints such as changes to the project cohort and the absence of specific national policies on data, software and citizen science for much of the project, NOVA was able to implement sustainable and replicable measures.
NOVA intends to continue with training activities, internal policy reviews, and the gradual integration of OPUS project recommendations into open science implementation and valorisation.
Why does this matter?
In a world where trust in science and equitable access to knowledge are paramount, NOVA University Lisbon shows that it is possible to promote science that is more open, fair, and relevant to society.
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