Laying the Foundation for Open Science: Experiences and Best Practices for Training at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
Abstract
As Open Science advances globally, its implementation in local contexts represents both challenges and opportunities. In Chile, this process is in its initial phase, and university libraries play a fundamental role in raising awareness, training, and supporting cultural changes in research practices. This talk presents the experience of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile Libraries in designing and implementing an Open Science training program aimed at researchers and the academic community. This process began with an institutional survey that revealed a widespread lack of awareness about the principles of Open Science, as well as concerns about issues related to sharing research results and data. Based on this assessment, a multimodal training strategy was developed that includes synchronous workshops and an asynchronous self-paced course. Along with these training opportunities, meetings were held with several colleges, with the aim of raising awareness about the topic, listening to their concerns, and offering direct guidance. In this context, Astronomy stands out as an advanced area with extensive experience in these topics. Their collaboration was key to developing relevant content and sharing successful experiences within the university-level research ecosystem.
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Laying the Foundation for Open Science Experiences and Best Practices for Training at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Denise Depoortere, Lucy Opazo, Romina Torres and María José Gómez Bibliotecas UC LISA 10 Conference Library and Information Services in Astronomy Santiago, Chile, November 2025
WWW.UC.CL Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile It consists of five campuses: Casa Central, San Joaquín, Oriente, and Lo Contador in Santiago Villarrica,in the Araucanía Region. 4.114 Academics 10 Libraries 39.745 Students 18 Faculties 1° Ranking QS Chile 1° Ranking QS Latam 116° Ranking QS Worldwide 39 Doctoral Programs 104 Master's Programs
PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE CHILE WWW.UC.CL Development of Open Science Latin American context ▪Scielo: Scientific Electronic Library Online, 1997. ▪Cybertesis: Publication and dissemination of digital theses, 2006. ▪La Referencia: Open access repository network, 2012. National context ▪First draft: ANID open access policy, October 2019. ▪Roundtables and consultations: Participation and capacity building (InES 2020-2021) ▪Approval of the policy by exempt resolution, May 2022.
WWW.UC.CL Building the foundations for Open Science at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
WWW.UC.CL Project Objectives General Objective: Develop an institutional ecosystem of Open Science, aligned with ANID's open access policies and international standards. Objective 2: Establish the conditions for institutional digital infrastructure practice of Open Science. Objective 1: Develop a governance model that leads to an institutional strategic plan: policies, procedures, and best practices. Objective 4: Establish a continuous, bi-directional communication channel with diverse entities at the institutional, national, and international levels. Objective 3: Develop an Open Science training plan for the various actors in the institutional ecosystem, strengthening capacities and expanding those required in the areas covered by the project.
PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE CHILE WWW.UC.CL Methodology 1 Initial diagnosis •Survey of UC academics •Identification of knowledge, interests, and training modalities 2 Design and skills assessment •Literature review •Adaptation of learning objectives according to institutional roles 3 Training strategy •Asynchronous online course •Synchronous workshops •Meetings with Faculties •Events
WWW.UC.CL Initial Diagnosis - Survey of academics 2022 •635 academics, with a response rate of 23.5% (149). •5 dimensions: focused on aspects such as familiarity and knowledge of concepts in Open Science, institutional aspects, academics' needs, and outlook for the future. 70% does not publish in Open Access. 82,4% of academics consider it important to advance Open Science for the development of the university. 95% are unaware of or have not read ANID's Open Access policy. +66% of academics consider Institutional Policy to be the most important aspect for strengthening the benefits of Open Science at UC. 80% of academics say they require training in Open Science.
PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE CHILE WWW.UC.CL Skills design and assessment Approach: Design in retrospect → plan objectives + learning paths + proficiency levels. Methodology: Review of skills from FOSTER and EOSC → integration of key knowledge for Open Science. Results: Skills by roles and levels (basic, intermediate, advanced) → guide for future training actions.
WWW.UC.CL UC Astronomy: a collaborative model for advancing Open Science Strategic role •Member of the Academic Advisory Committee for the UC Open Science project •Participation in the introductory course •Collaborations with libraries (data management and repository) Contributions from Astronomy •Open archives and global access •Data reuse •Data management and storage (Zenodo, repositories) Inspiration for other areas •Astronomy as an example of experience, cooperation, and transfer of best practices Key considerations •Scientific reproducibility •Open data → increases its scientific impact •Ethical challenges
WWW.UC.CL Conclusions and Challenges - Formative Strategy •The need to train new lecturers and update materials to expand the scope of training was identified. •Atraining program combining workshops and an open online course was consolidated, promoting continued learning beyond the project. •Collaborative work between different units contributed to the support and dissemination of good practices. •Dissemination and communication remain a challenge, especially given the high information load of the university community.
WWW.UC.CL UC Institutional Open Science Ecosystem UC has developed a comprehensive Open Science ecosystem that democratizes access to knowledge and strengthens collaborative research. Policies and Guidelines UC Open Science Guidelines and alignment with ANID policies Community and Communication Network of collaborators, academic testimonials, bidirectional communication. Data Management FAIR data management plans, interoperability with ANID Open Publishing Transformative agreements with publishers (Taylor & Francis, IOP), green and gold routes. Training and Development Course "Introduction to Open Science", specialized workshops, continuous training agenda. Digital Infrastructure UC Repository, UC Data Repository, interoperable platforms.
WWW.UC.CL Conclusions & Challenges Project: Building the foundations for Open Science at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. •The project enabled progress in establishing a culture of Open Science, strengthening the interest and participation of the Academic Community. •There is still a need to deepen cultural change, promoting a broader and more sustained understanding of the value of scientific openness. •Finally, the sustainability of the work carried out requires consolidating and scaling up capacities in Open Science, enhancing access to and management of scientific data and information.
WWW.UC.CL Thank You Denise Depoortere ([email protected]) Lucy Opazo ([email protected]) Romina Torres ([email protected]) María José Gómez ([email protected])