State Secretary Hirayama opens event on European Cooperation on Open Science

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On 8 March, the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) and representatives of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) hosted a meeting in Bern. The aim was to further intensify cross-border dialogue on Open Science, exchange best practices and promote activities between European and Swiss stakeholders. Martina Hirayama, State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation, emphasised the importance of an Open European Research Area.

The event focused on the discussion of how Open Science can be best promoted in Switzerland and Europe. State Secretary Martina Hirayama emphasised the need for strong cooperation between Europe and Switzerland, including in this area. The organisation of this event reflects Switzerland’s desire to play an active role in the European Research Area, also with regard to Open Science. Ms Hirayama referred to Switzerland’s national Open Access strategy and the corresponding action plan for implementation, as well as to Switzerland’s Open Research Data strategy and its Strategy Council, which was represented by its president Martin Vetterli (President of EPFL). She stressed that the debate was not only about technical implementation, but also about an associated cultural shift that affects actors at all levels (researchers, universities, research infrastructures) and one that remains a challenge in the move towards Open Science.

Furthermore, Karel Luyben, President of the EOSC Association, and Ute Gunsenheimer, Secretary General of the EOSC Association, updated delegates on the current state of progress towards implementing the European Open Science Cloud. In this context, researchers presented flagship projects contributing to implementation of EOSC. The event was attended by European and Swiss representatives from science policy institutions, research funding agencies, research organisations, research infrastructures and private institutions.

European Open Science Cloud (EOSC)

The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) is a co-programmed European partnership in which public and private partners develop a common research agenda. Its goal is to provide researchers, innovators, businesses and citizens in Europe with an open multidisciplinary environment in which they can publish, find and reuse data, tools and services for research, innovation and education purposes. The full deployment of EOSC should lead to increased research productivity, new knowledge and innovation, as well as improved reproducibility and greater public trust in science.