Open Science Conference 2025 | Open Science Conference

1-Slider-Barcamp-Background

The international Open Science Conference provides a unique forum to discuss the latest and future developments in Open Science.

Conclusion of the Open Science Conference

Since 2014, the ZBW – Leibniz Information Center for Economics, initially in collaboration with the Leibniz Open Science Research Network and later with the Leibniz Open Science Strategy Forum, has created, through the Open Science Conference, a forum for international exchange where researchers, science policymakers, libraries, and infrastructure organizations could come together to discuss, further develop, and advance Open Science.

When we launched this conference series over ten years ago, Open Science was still in its early stages. Much of what seems self-evident today first had to be contextualized, explained, connected, and widely disseminated. That is why a research network took the lead at that time. During that time, the Open Science Conference served as a forum that brought together key stakeholders from various fields, thereby making an important contribution to exploring the topic, raising its international profile, and establishing it as a mainstream concept.

This was followed by a phase of strategic engagement with Open Science. The focus was on strategic issues such as positioning Open Science within academic institutions or supporting Open Science practices in scientific processes. Consequently, the Open Science Conference was supported during this period by the Leibniz Strategy Forum on Open Science.

Today, the situation has changed fundamentally. Open Science is no longer a niche topic but has become mainstream in many areas of the research system. We recognize that in many places, the focus is now on implementing Open Science within the research system. At the same time, the field has become highly specialized. Topics such as Open Access, FAIR Data, and research software are now addressed in depth within their own communities and at specialized events. There are now numerous festivals, barcamps, meetups, and conferences worldwide dedicated to the various facets of Open Science, which keep the discourse alive.

We are very pleased that the ZBW was able to make a substantial contribution to this development through the Open Science Conference. Precisely because Open Science has spread and become institutionalized so successfully, the time has now come to bring the conference series to a fitting conclusion.

The ZBW is therefore ending the Open Science Conference as an event series. We do so with great gratitude toward everyone who has shaped, supported, and enriched the conference over the years with their perspectives, contributions, and discussions.

We look back with pride on what we have achieved. At the same time, we do not view the end of this series as the end of our commitment to Open Science, but rather as an expression of a successful transformation: The topic has taken root, is widely established, and is now being implemented and carried forward by many communities, formats, and initiatives.

We would like to express our heartfelt thanks for your participation, your insights, and your long-standing support.

Best regards
Prof. Dr. Klaus Tochtermann
Chair of the Open Science Conference and
Director of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Center for Economics

Thank you for your participation at the Open Science Conference 2025 (#OSC2025)!

Please click the links below to read the conference report, watch the video recordings, or check out the presentations and more!

Conference report | Videos | Zenodo

Photo: Thomas Panzau

About the Conference

The Open Science Conference is an annual international conference dedicated to the Open Science movement. It provides a unique forum for researchers, data stewards, librarians, practitioners, infrastructure providers, policy makers, and other important stakeholders to discuss the latest and future developments in Open Science. In 2025, the conference returns to its roots and takes place as a face-to-face event in Hamburg again.

This year’s conference will have a special focus on the intersection between Open Science and AI. The rapid integration of artificial intelligence and corresponding tools into scientific research poses both new challenges but also opportunities for Open Science practices. This requires a reflection on how this can be aligned with transparency, accessibility, reproducibility, and reusability as core principles of Open Science.

The Open Science Conference is hosted by the Leibniz Strategy Forum Open Science and organised under the lead of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.