The
University of Tartu is taking significant steps to strengthen Open Science and research data management support across all disciplines. Supported by funding from the University of Tartu Development Fund, the
University of Tartu Library established in March 2025 a cross-disciplinary Open Science Competence Network and developing a university-wide support system for research data management and Open Science-related questions.
The initiative marks a new phase in the university's efforts to embed Open Science practices into everyday research activities.
Building local expertise across the university
The Open Science Competence Network brought together researchers and support specialists from different faculties and institutes who act as local advisors for their colleagues. Their primary role is to provide guidance on research data management, open access publishing, and Open Science more broadly. The new network will make support services more accessible and discipline-specific. Until now, guidance on research data management and Open Science has primarily been provided by the library. Our goal is to train consultants within different disciplines who can offer more tailored support to researchers based on the specific needs of their fields.
The advisors will serve as contact persons for researchers and help direct more complex questions to the appropriate university support units, such as the library, IT services, or information management specialists.
Launch events bring together nearly 60 participants
The competence network officially launched with two events held at the University of Tartu Library on 23 April and 14 May 2025, attracting nearly 60 participants from across the university.
During the first event, participants were introduced to the principles of Open Science and recent developments in Estonia and Europe. The programme also covered open access publishing policies, requirements, and opportunities available to researchers.
The second event focused on research data management. Participants discussed key issues related to managing, sharing and preserving research data and took part in group discussions that allowed members to exchange experiences and establish connections across disciplines.
Training and international learning opportunities
Following the launch phase, the library provided a comprehensive training program for network members. Participants gained in-depth knowledge of various aspects of research data management, preservation, legal issues and developed practical skills for advising researchers on the topic. Network meetings and training sessions continued regularly, responding to the interests and needs of members. Ten training sessions were held during the pilot year and was ended with the final seminar on the 19th of March, 2026. The seminar gave an overview of the network's achievements and training activities and concluded with a discussion led by Vice Rector for Research on the future development of research data management at the university.
Participants agreed that the network has become an important platform for bringing together specialists from different disciplines, fostering collaboration and increasing awareness of research data management. One of the members of the network highlighted the value of the initiative: "The network has provided a great deal of inspiration and has helped us find new collaboration partners. We have built a strong foundation and can now move forward from here."
Challenges and opportunities
Despite the progress made, discussions during the seminar highlighted several challenges. Participants noted that understanding of research data management still varies across the university, making it difficult to establish a consistent and systematic approach.
This can lead to practical issues related to data storage, documentation, citation and long-term preservation. Particular attention was drawn to the need for clearer guidance on handling sensitive data and for better-defined roles and responsibilities in data management processes.
Doctoral education was another key topic. Although training opportunities already exist, participants noted that research data management is not yet systematically integrated into doctoral curricula and is generally not mandatory. Stronger collaboration with doctoral schools and a broader approach that combines research data management, Open Science and scholarly publishing were identified as important priorities.
Modernising research data infrastructure
In addition to supporting people and skills development, funding from the University of Tartu Development Fund also enabled a major upgrade to the university's research data infrastructure. The university's research data repository, DataDOI, was migrated from the DSpace platform to the open-source Dataverse platform, which is specifically designed for research data management. Dataverse offers improved support for discipline-specific metadata standards and FAIR data principles, helping ensure that research data remain Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable.
Looking ahead
The establishment of the Open Science Competence Network represents an important milestone in the University of Tartu's Open Science journey. By combining local expertise, structured training, peer support and improved infrastructure, the university is creating a sustainable support system that will help researchers navigate the increasingly complex landscape of open science and research data management.
As the network grows and develops, it will continue to strengthen collaboration across disciplines, support responsible research practices, and contribute to a more open and transparent research culture at the University of Tartu.
