Fifth anniversary of the OIS Research Conference and my fifth participation – Why?

This year marks an anniversary – the 5th Open Innovation in Science (OIS) Resaerch Conference – a milestone that invites reflection. Having been a part of all five conferences, I find myself asking, “Why?”

The true test of a conference’s success lies not just in its debut, but in its ability to consistently deliver value year after year. As a five-time participant, I can attest to OIS’s enduring appeal. Each year, I’ve returned from the OIS Research Conference feeling inspired and energized, clearly a testament to its quality, relevance and the conference crowd that has formed around OIS.

So, let me briefly explain why I returned year after year.

“The” conference on Openness in Science

In 2019, the conference initiators and hosts (Susanne Beck, Christoph Grimpe, Marion Poetz and Henry Sauermann) filled a gap in our scientific conference landscape with a conference that focused on open science and, in particular, on crowd science. I believe, it has become “the” conference related to open and collaborative practices in science. Over the years, the conference evolved from “setting the field” (i.e., the OIS research framework) to embracing the challenges and opportunities of a research field that is sensitive to the myriad open and collaborative practices across diverse fields and problems. This year’s conference topic “Zeroing in on the individual scientist” focuses on the required capabilities, individual actions and team demands that an individual scientist has to deal with when engaging in “open science”. These range from legal aspects and coping with an increasingly complex set of responsibilities to addressing the growing role of AI, which comes along with opportunities and challenges.

Multidisciplinary and Science-Practitioner Dialogue

What sets the OIS Research Conference apart is its commitment to fostering multidisciplinary dialogues and prompting science-practitioner exchange. It brings together scholars and OIS practitioners from various walks of life, making it an enriching “space” for lively discussions and knowledge exchange.  Here a biologist might find unexpected common ground with a psychologist and an economist. As such the conference crowd also tries to uncover the different lenses through which participants see “open science”, being sensitive to different “understandings” and engaging in meaning making and even developing a “common language”.

An Active Experience

How do you make your participants excited – by challenging them! OIS is not a conference in which you want to lay back in your chair. OIS is not about passive knowledge consumption. Each year, the organizers challenge the participants to actively engage in crowd tasks. When it is time to “walk the talk”, the conference room is full of excitement! Then we are not just talking about open science, we are doing it. From conceptualizing frameworks to co-developing research proposals, these hands-on activities transform the conference into a truly collaborative endeavor. Past conferences even turned into joint publications co-authored by the OIS Research Conference crowd.

Being part of it

Perhaps most importantly, OIS has cultivated a sense of community that goes beyond the typical conference experience. It’s not about attending once or twice; it’s about becoming part of it. Walking into an OIS Research Conference feels like coming home – a place where you’re surrounded by like-minded individuals who share your passion for open science (and, of course, the passion for the Zotter conference chocolate that no one can resist and magically is always there wherever we are). But this does not mean that it’s a closed group: all new members, from the first-year doctoral student to an emeritus, experience the welcoming atmosphere. Insofar, it is a conference which is not just about professional development and knowledge sharing, but also about nurturing as well as growing the field together.

Looking Ahead

The landscape of open science is rapidly evolving. Out of many, let me pick two topics that I feel demand our attention. First, the growing role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in open science. While some fear AI might render crowd science obsolete, others see it as a catalyst for accelerating it. Second, open science faces new challenges in an increasingly fragmented global science landscape. We’re witnessing signs of decoupling within the international scientific community. Despite growth in  international research mobility, mobility and even collaboration with a number of countries has significantly decreased. In the corporate world, the trend is mirrored and firms react by de-risking and diversifying their global activity. The global tensions raise important questions for the open science movement: How can we maintain open science and collaboration in an open and not so open world?

One thing is certain. The OIS Research Community will be in Vienna next year, ready to address those challenges and even more that lie ahead. Lastly, great conferences do not run themselves. They require careful orchestration and the tireless efforts of dedicated individuals. A heartfelt thanks and tribute to the conference initiators and organizers. 

See you in Vienna 2025!