KT Connects — Transition to open: a shift in scientific culture and practice

In 2024, KT Connects is focusing on open science — the practice of making scientific inputs, outputs, and processes freely available to all with minimal restrictions.

As information technology enables more people to rapidly share large amounts of data and knowledge, open science — making scientific processes and practices, including research methods and outputs, more accessible and transparent — is moving from the fringe to centre stage. However, there is much more to open science than who pays for scientific publications, the reliable reuse of data, or publishing results before peer review. As seen through multiple national and international open science efforts, truly open research includes emphasis on knowledge translation and mobilization activities, as well as equitable and meaningful engagement with diverse communities impacted by research findings.

In this webinar — the first in Health Research BC’s series focused on open science — Dr. Maria Pawlowska will give an overview of open science by illustrating the variety of efforts underway in Canada, the United States, and Europe, explaining why open science is relevant to everyone, and highlighting the opportunities, benefits and challenges that lay ahead.

Learning objectives

After this webinar, the audience will be able to:

1. Explain what open science entails.
2. Describe the Canadian and international context for open science implementation.
3. Illustrate how to implement an open science framework in a biomedical research context.

Speaker bio

Dr Maria Pawlowska is an expert in research management with a focus on scientific data management and open science. Following her PhD in earth sciences from the University of Cambridge, she transitioned to a career in research administration and policy. Maria has collaborated with European governments and non-governmental organizations as well as Fortune200 companies. She has helped establish over a dozen new centers of excellence, working with institutions such as Oxford University and National Centre for Scientific Research. Additionally, she has contributed to the design and implementation of international open science policies. Currently, Maria is involved in implementing open science practices in Nova Scotia.