I Provide leadership and strategic direction for Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) Library. This mainly entails; coordinating the acquisition and proper maintenance of books, serial publications, electronic media resources as well as other academic publications, equipment and information technology, developing and implementing an effective knowledge organization system, Preparing and managing annual budgets of the University library, developing and promoting a culture of excellence, collaboration, innovation and continual improvement within the library, representing the library in academic and professional activities, supervising and evaluating the performance of MUST library staff, planning for library staff development and ensuring the creation and maintenance of Library databases.
What I understand about open access or open science is the removal of barriers to accessing information or knowledge. Traditionally access to knowledge was restricted to only those who could afford to pay for it. Since we are now living in the knowledge age, the trend is changing to where all those who can afford and those who can’t afford to buy the knowledge. can all access this knowledge freely and openly? This is a process where authors can choose to publish their research works on platforms which are freely accessible to all. They also open their research data for anyone to reuse and share it as long as it is duly acknowledged. Even during the peer review process, publishers are encouraged to open the peer review process. The creators of the teaching materials can also upload it on platforms where any one can access, reuse and even modify their works as long as they acknowledge the original source.
Below are some of the expectations I have for attending this workshop;
- Get more enlighten on open access, open science and open scholarship.
- Networking and triggering collaborations with fellow professionals in open science
- Sourcing for the required ICT infrastructure to support open science at MUST
- Learn the process of applying for DOIs, Crossref and other persistent document identifiers
- Tips on writing winning research grants for open science
- Learn more on how to market open science in MUST
- Share experiences on lobbying and advocating for open education resources