We’re excited to announce a packed programme of events for this year’s #OAWeek at UCL! Throughout the week, we’ll be sharing daily blog posts and updates on social media that highlight the latest activities from UCL Press and the UCL Copyright team, alongside exciting news on our growing Citizen Science Community on MS Teams. This year’s theme, ‘Community over Commercialisation’, will be at the heart of our discussions, exploring how we can prioritise openness and collaboration in research to benefit the public and academic communities rather than profit-driven initiatives.

Poster of the International Open Access Week 2024

Read more about Open Access week and this year’s theme.

Tuesday 22 October (11:00am-2:00 pm) – Open Science and ARC Roadshow

As part of this year’s Open Access Week activities, we’re launching the first in a series of pilot roadshows, jointly organised by the UCL Office for Open Science & Scholarship and the Centre for Advanced Research Computing.

Come and find us outside the Academic Staff Common Room in the North Cloisters between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm, where our team will be on hand to answer all your questions about Open Access publishing, Research Data Management, Research IT, Data Stewardship, Citizen Science, and any other Open Science-related topics you’re curious about! Stop by to find out more—we might even have some goodies waiting for you!

No registration needed – find the event location on the webpage.

Tuesday 22 October (2:30-4:00 pm) – Copyright, Open Science & Creativity

One event we’re particularly excited about is happening on Tuesday, 22 October (2:30–4:00 pm). We’ll be hosting a brand-new card game designed by Christine Daouti, titled ‘Copyright, Open Science, and Creativity’. This engaging game provides a fun and interactive way to explore key topics like equity in open science, authors’ rights, and open access publishing. You’ll have the opportunity to debate various aspects of copyright with fellow participants and explore issues such as open licences, AI in research, rights retention, and the challenges of equity in open science.

Spaces are limited, so be sure to sign up early! For more details and registration information, visit the event page.

Wednesday 23 October (2:00–3:30 pm) – Annual Open Science & Scholarship Awards

We’re also really glad to invite you to our second Annual Open Science & Scholarship Awards! Join us in celebrating the incredible contributions of colleagues and students to the future of open research and scholarship. The event will feature short talks from the winners in each category, followed by the award presentations. Afterwards, stay for drinks, nibbles, and a chance to network with peers.

Register today via our Eventbrite page!

Thursday 24 October, 2.30 pm – 4 pm, drop-in session on Copyright, Licences and Open Science

Join the UCL Copyright team for an online drop-in session where they’ll be available to answer your questions about copyright, licensing, and how to share your research openly. This is a great opportunity to clarify any issues related to your research, thesis, publications, or data. Feel free to drop in on Teams between 2:30 and 3:50 pm or send your questions in advance to copyright@ucl.ac.uk.

To get you started, here are a few questions you might want to consider:

• Why do research funders prefer CC BY licences for journal articles and monographs?
• What copyright considerations should you keep in mind when making your data open and FAIR?
• Can you use someone else’s copyrighted materials in your own thesis or publication that you plan to make open access?

This session offers a chance to resolve these and other copyright and licensing concerns so you can better understand the open research landscape.

Visit the event page for more information and sign up now!

Stay connected!

While we prepare for the events coming up, make sure you stay informed about new articles, events, and projects by signing up for your mailing list to receive the next issue of our Open@UCL newsletter. Also, join in the conversation during #OAWeek by checking this blog page for daily updates, and following us on LinkedIn or our newly created BlueSky account.

See you there!