The UOC offers more than 12,000 resources in open access

Open access refers to the practice of giving everyone in the world permanent online access to scientific and informative content free of cost. The launch of the Open Knowledge Action Plan has propelled the UOC towards a 16% increase in the amount of content published in its open access repository, O2, in just one year. The O2 currently offers a total of 12,393 resources that can be freely read or downloaded by any member of society. Over half of the resources published by the UOC are in open access, a percentage which chimes with other Spanish university figures according to a  recent report from Crue Universidades Españolas.

A detailed breakdown of the platform's content shows that it contains 1,432 scientific articles, 7,484 final degree projects, 1,614 open access learning resources, 139 doctoral theses, 967 institutional documents, 729 research documents (book chapters, lectures and reports) and 28 material resources, including research data and assessment tests.

Moreover, the O2 receives visits from around the world: during the period between September 2018 and September 2019, it received 128,404 visits from online-only users, mainly from Spain (58%) and Latin America (28%). Individuals who visit the repository do not limit themselves to looking at the resources, but actively download content too. Over the last academic year, visitors downloaded a total of 133,203 documents. The most downloaded resources include a  report on the technological perspectives of higher education in Ibero-America from 2012 to 2017, a final master's degree project about nutrition and health for those following a vegan diet and a final master's degree project about cyberbullying in schools, grooming and sexting.

Maintaining its commitment to open knowledge and open science, the UOC has set itself an open access objective for the year 2030: succeed in making open access the default option for publishing its scientific output. In this regard, the UOC's Vice President for Globalization and Cooperation, Pastora Martínez, stressed that "the University is working to become a knowledge hub that can play its part in overcoming global challenges, the majority of which are contained in the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development".

Scientific data, and the management and administration thereof, is also a cornerstone of open knowledge. In this vein, the head of research data management at Library and Learning Resources, Rosa Padrós, pointed out that "the University has decided that one of its milestones will be ensuring that the data used in UOC research complies with the FAIR data principles, meaning they should be findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable for the entire global scientific community".

For David Megías, director of the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3), opening access to academic publications is one way of guaranteeing that everyone has an equal opportunity to view research output, not to mention the fact that it boosts the impact and visibility of researchers' work.

A micro-MOOC unlocks the door to open science on Twitter

To celebrate International Open Access Week (21 to 25 October), the UOC will head up the 3rd micro-MOOC on Open Science alongside 18 other institutions. This year's micro-MOOC has broadened its focused, covering the basics of open science and addressing a range of relevant topics and concepts. Director of Library and Learning Resources, Ciro Llueca, explained that "this is the first time Spanish universities are joining forces to create a micro-MOOC that encourages open science". To make sure the micro-MOOC benefits the largest audience possible, the content will be tweeted in five languages: English, Catalan, Spanish, Basque and Galician.

Each day – from 21 to 25 October – via the @moocmicro Twitter account, the course will focus on a different subject, from open data management and conservation, to responsible research and innovation (RRI) and new ways of evaluating research. This initiative is particularly geared towards academic researchers and university students, but is open to anyone who wishes to connect with the open science movement and gain a more global perspective on the matter. That's why the content will be shared in a simple and comprehensive format.

Content creation for this year's micro-MOOC was carried out by the libraries of the following institutions: the Spanish National Research Council, Mondragon University, University Carlos III of Madrid, the University of Extremadura, the University of Huelva, the University of Leon, the University of Santiago de Compostela, the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, the University of Barcelona, the University of Girona, the University of Lleida, the Universitat de València, the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia, Universitat Jaume I, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Pompeu Fabra University, Ramon Llull University and Universitat Rovira i Virgili.

Backing the initiative in terms of dissemination are the European University Association, the Catalan University Service Consortium, the Association of European Research Libraries, the Spanish Network of University Libraries, and the European division of the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition.