The Association for African Universities (AAU), the Public Library of Science (PLOS), and the Training Centre in Communication (TCC Africa) have agreed to collaborate to increase awareness and provide training around Open Science practices and Open Access publishing in Africa.
In a communication available on TCC's website, Professor Oyewole, Secretary General of the Association of African Universities, expressed AAU’s eagerness to work together with PLOS and TCC Africa towards improving knowledge on Open Science and increasing levels of adoption and practice at member institutions.
On her side Joy Owango, the Executive Director of TCC expressed her excitement working with AAU, “We already work closely with PLOS, and we are excited about teaming with AAU,” she expressed her hope that all the three organizations will play key roles in the communication of and education in open science practices
At the same time, Roheena Anand, the Executive Director of Global Publishing Development, PLOS, said the work with AAU and TCC Africa will not just benefit African researchers and institutions, but will also help inform activities on a global scale.
The partnership will also enable the partners to identify challenges to Open Science adoption while simultaneously supporting effective implementation. Most importantly, it will go along way at strengthening local knowledge and infrastructure related to open science and contribute to improving the visibility of the research produced in Africa.
Open science is a global trend focusing on widespread sharing of research results and is transforming the way research is done. The issue has become more visible and there is a growing recognition that open science will help accelerate progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by increasing the impact of research in society.
The objectives of this collaboration will be achieved through capacity-building regional workshops carried out across the continent. The launch of the initiative, on April 26, 2022, will be virtual, and is an invitation to the Presidents, Vice Chancellors, Rectors, Deputy Vice Chancellors, Directors of Research and Libraries of African Universities to inform them of the intent of this collaboration.
Photo Courtesy / Google
Article by Jedidah Mwangi
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