By: Claus Brink Mortensen, AAU OPEN, Aalborg University Library

An Afternoon Dedicated to Openness

The Vice Dean for Research at the Faculty of Medicine, Ole Kæseler Andersen, welcomed everyone in his capacity as a member of the Open Access Committee. He has helped develop AAU's new Open Access policy, which was launched at the same event. The hosts and co-founders of AAU OPEN, Kathrine Bjerg Bennike and Anna Stegger Gemzøe, then presented AAU OPEN.

AAU OPEN is launching at a time when the trend towards more openness in research—from process to publication—is growing internationally. Therefore, AAU OPEN is also part of an international movement of Open Access publishers, libraries, and interest organizations, where the field is rapidly evolving. Because the field has grown in both complexity and opportunities, AAU OPEN is also intended to function as a competence center for AAU researchers seeking Open Access guidance and publication strategy support.

After this presentation, the floor was given to senior analyst at National Open Research Analytics (NORA) at Denmark's Research Portal, Dicte Madsen, who introduced Denmark's National Open Access Indicator and the positive development we have seen over the past 10 years, which still requires ongoing action and new initiatives to continue.

Next, the head of national licenses at the Royal Library, Lise Baltzer, presented the national license agreements with major publishers. As the demands for open research increase, new approaches to publishers are required, and here Denmark, according to Baltzer, benefits from a unified national stance in license negotiations. Initiatives like AAU OPEN also contribute to diversifying the publishing landscape, which is also healthy.

AAU OPEN from a Researcher's Perspective

Winner of the KAMMA Award 2024, associate professor and research group leader from CREATE, Linda Nhu Laursen, enriched this presentation with an energetic and inspiring talk about how she has used AAU OPEN as a valuable and unique supplement to her other research. Laursen has used AAU OPEN to publish teaching materials for her students in the form of a newly started book series on key concepts—material that she previously had difficulty distributing in a proper and sustainable way. The book has already been downloaded over 250 times since October, proving its worth. Laursen will also use AAU OPEN to publish the report her grant provider requests.

Finally, Laursen emphasized that beyond considerations of publication, dissemination, and funding, the use of AAU OPEN has increased engagement with her research in general; based on the publications at AAU OPEN, she received new inquiries about future collaborations.

The hosts concluded the series of talks with an open debate with participants and the day's speakers about the most common challenges of Open Access publishing, but also the great potentials and benefits that can be secured. Discussions included how AAU OPEN ensures the quality of its academic publishing process, questions about general publication strategy, and future work on negotiating license agreements in the best way.

Open Access – Knowledge for the World

Since Open Access gained momentum in the 1990s, the movement has aimed to make scientific research freely available. Open Access is part of a broader goal of Open Science, which works to ensure transparency and access to knowledge for all, without economic or legal barriers. Open Science also paves the way for a research practice built on collaboration and new, responsible metrics for evaluating research across fields.

AAU OPEN is a significant contribution in this direction and, with its opening, helps promote the rapidly advancing development within Open Science by enabling AAU researchers to publish free Open Access. Thus, it can be seen in conjunction with AAU's new research indicator, which is based on the principles of openness, visibility, and collaboration.

AAU OPEN: Share Your Knowledge with the World Today!

AAU OPEN thanks everyone for their great and engaged attendance and looks forward to supporting all AAU researchers in more open and accessible research.