Ukrainian Open Science Experience at an Open Book Publishers International Webinar

On September 14, an international webinar titled “Distributing Knowledge for Equity: Two New Books and an Evolving Concept for Open Science,” organized by Open Book Publishers, took place.

Participants discussed issues of openness and the equitable distribution of knowledge within higher education and academia. Representatives from Australia, Germany, Mexico, Nigeria, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine took part in the event.

The event was inspired by the release of two open-access books:

• “Distributing Knowledge: Openness, Equity, and Higher Education Transformation” by Richard Weller;
• “The Politics of Open Infrastructures: Power, Governance and Justice in Digital Knowledge Practices”, edited by Katja Mayer, Astrid Mager, and Renée Ridgway.

The webinar program covered several thematic areas: the role of openness in ensuring equal access to education and creating new educational models, the concept of the “University without Walls,” and the need to update openness policies.

Ukraine was represented at the event by Yana Suchikova, Vice-Rector for Research and Ihor Lyman, Head of the Department of History and Philosophy, both from Berdyansk State Pedagogical University.

Yana Suchikova delivered a presentation titled “Open Science Distribution as a Framework Connecting Publishing, Education, and Infrastructure”. The presentation highlighted Ukraine’s experience in developing open science amidst the war, specifically focusing on the experience of BSPU as a displaced university. Key topics included Ukraine’s national open science plan, the Open4UA initiative, the TAIEX expert mission, the activities of the Ministry of Education and Science’s Open Science Coordination Council, the development of institutional infrastructure, access to scientific resources via Research4Life, publication waivers for Ukrainian authors, and the SUPRR program (Supporting Ukrainian Publishing Resilience and Recovery).

Ihor Lyman presented BSPU’s experience within the “University Without Walls” framework. The audience was introduced to the university’s responses to the challenges posed by the full-scale invasion, such as the use of Moodle and Zoom, asynchronous learning, and support for the academic community. The “University Without Walls” symposium, held earlier this year in Canberra, was also discussed.     The event confirmed that BSPU’s experience of displacement is a significant part of the international dialogue.

Based on materials from Yana Suchikova’s Facebook page