Hungarian Open Science Forum XIII – Fresh Impulses from the World of Open Science
On February 6, 2026, Pro-M Zrt. and the University of Debrecen University and National Library (DEENK) organized the popular online event, the Hungarian Open Science Forum, for the thirteenth time. The two-hour online event attracted 135 participants, and after the presentations, a very informative and thought-provoking Q&A session closed the day.
The Forum traditionally covers the most current topics related to open science, and this time was no different. Three outstanding presentations provided a comprehensive overview of international and domestic developments.
CoARA – The reform for research evaluation is moving forward
Andrea Balla, co-chair of the CoARA Hungarian National Chapter, opened the event with an international overview. Launched in 2022, the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) now brings together more than 900 organizations worldwide with the goal of radically transforming the evaluation of the performance of researchers, research groups, and institutions.
The biggest flaw in the traditional model is that it relies too heavily on publication metrics (impact factor, h-index, etc.) while ignoring the diversity of scientific contributions. CoARA therefore strongly advocates the following principles:
•True recognition of the diversity of scientific achievements (not only articles, but also data sets, software, teaching materials, social impact, etc.)
•Reducing the excessive use of journal- and publication-based metrics
•Appropriate evaluation of peer review work
•Avoidance of ranking metrics (e.g., QS, THE) in individual performance evaluations
The Hungarian research community also clearly supports these directions: according to a joint survey conducted by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Young Researchers in 2025, the overwhelming majority of Hungarian researchers agree with the principles of CoARA.
The coalition works in several parallel working groups: some examine issues of data management, artificial intelligence ethics, and research integrity, while others deal with criticism of university rankings and the development of grant evaluation practices.
EOSC – One step closer to European scientific cooperation
Zoltán Pompor and Ákos Lencsés (Pro-M Zrt.) reported on the current status of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and the node concept.
The essence of EOSC is to link existing, high-quality research infrastructures (data repositories, computing capacities, cloud services, data management software, etc.) into a single large, coordinated network. For users, the entry points are the so-called nodes – 14 such nodes have started operating so far, and the network is constantly expanding.
The EOSC EU Node was launched in 2024 and now has comprehensive documentation with detailed descriptions and guides for all services.
The second half of the presentation focused on the EOSC Gravity project, which deals with fine-tuning the EOSC operating model, strengthening the node network, establishing the EOSC Academy, and supporting professional networks and annual conferences. At the end of January 2026, the project's Winter School event took place in France, where participants discussed strategic issues, built relationships, and actively shaped the future.
Diamond Open Access and the role of MTMT3 in Hungary
In the final presentation, András Holl (Deputy Director of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Library and Information Center) outlined an ambitious domestic vision: the development of a strong Diamond Open Access infrastructure, the backbone of which could be provided by MTMT3 (the renewable Hungarian Scientific Works Repository).
There is a growing demand in Europe for the Diamond OA model, where neither authors nor readers have to pay – the costs are covered by institutions, foundations, or public funds. This offers more favorable options than the expensive Gold OA APCs, or the even more problematic hybrid model.
András Holl's proposal:
•Comprehensive survey of domestic Diamond OA needs and opportunities
•Establishment of competence centers to provide professional support for diamond publishing
•Promotion of the consistent use of unique identifiers (ORCID, DOI, ROR, etc.)
•Linking existing infrastructures (rather than new aggregators) as efficiently as possible
This approach could significantly reduce the publication costs of the Hungarian research community in the long term, while increasing the visibility and social utility of scientific results.
The 13th Hungarian Open Science Forum has once again demonstrated that open science issues are no longer just a "fad," but an existing and urgent task for the Hungarian and European research ecosystems. The reform of CoARA, the expansion of the EOSC node network, and the steps taken in Hungary towards diamond OA all point in the direction of making the evaluation and dissemination of science more people-oriented, fairer, and more efficient.
The organizers thank OpenAIRE for providing the platform for this gathering.
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