Open Research Week 2026

Open Research Week 2026 is a collaboration between Dublin City University, Queen's University Belfast, University College Cork, University College Dublin and University of Galway, celebrating and promoting open research.

It is scheduled for February 9-11, 2026 with morning and afternoon sessions each day, focusing on different aspects of open research such as citizen science, open research culture, open publishing, rights retention, and open data. This will be an online event, where participants can build their own schedule for the week.

This event was created by Rebecca Clarke (Open Research Librarian, Queens University Belfast), Jenny Collery (Scholarly Communications Librarian, University College Dublin), Donna Ó Doibhlin (Scholarly Communications Librarian, University College Cork), Liam O'Dwyer (Open Research Librarian, Dublin City University), and Dr. Jen Smith (Open Research Librarian, University of Galway). The Open Research Week team wishes to celebrate Open Research, all those who practice it, and the key staff that support it.

Register for the events in the following link: Open Research Week 2026

PROGRAMME

Monday, 9th February | Open Access Publishing, Open Humanities
Morning (10:00 - 11:30)
Speaker	Topic
Assoc Prof Lai Mai (UCD)	Open Research: Principles and implementation in disciplinary contexts
Padraig Cronin & Shobha Mehta (UCC)	The Student Medical Journal: Challenges and Rewards of Open Access Publishing
Richard Harris (UCC)	The Boolean - Snapshots of Doctoral Research in UCC
Afternoon (14:00 - 15:30)
Speaker	Topic
Prof Anne-Marie McAlinden (QUB)	Open monograph publishing
Dr Alice Panepinto (QUB)	Open Access for Edited Collections
Alex Kouker & Geraldine McNamara (DCU)	Undergraduate journal publishing at DCU: a library-based and scholar-led collaboration
Tuesday, 10th February | Open Research, Citizen Science, Open Data, Open Software
Morning (10:00 - 11:30)
Speaker	Topic
Dr Pádraig Mac Aodhgáin (UCC)	The importance of sharing open data using FAIR and CARE
Dr James Brunton (DCU)	ENGAGED: Developing a national roadmap for public engagement and open research through sectoral stakeholder engagement
Dr Thérèse McDonnell (UCD)	Patient and Public Involvement in the design and conduct of research – engaging with a minority community
Afternoon (14:00 - 15:30)
Dr Ursula Connolly (UoG)	Publishing open access: How hard could it be? (Field notes from a confused academic)
Dr Emma Dorris (UCD)	Engaged Research: communities, impact & policy
Dr Brian O'Raghallaigh (DCU)	Terminologue - from terminology research to open software
Dr Úna Breathnach (DCU)	Meitheal Dúchas.ie and the voluntary transcription of half a million pages of folklore
Wednesday, 11th February | Open Research, Open Access, Rights Retention
Morning (10:00 - 11:30)
Speaker	Topic
Stephen Gorman (QUB)	Rights retention at Queen's University Belfast
Dr Cillian Joy (UoG)	From Rules to Service - How Integrated Repository-CRIS Workflows Can Ease Open Access Policy Implementation
Theo Andrew  (University of Edinburgh)	Rights retention: Lessons from the University of Edinburgh
Afternoon (14:00 - 15:30)
Lucinda May  (University of Manchester)	Rights retention: the N8’s path towards sustainable scholarly publishing
Dr Aoife Coffey (UCC)	Navigating Open Research - A guide for early career researchers
Dr Dorothy Ní Uigín  & Shannon Reeves (UoG)	An Reiviú: A deep retrofit for DOAJ