OPEN SCIENCE IN UNIVERSITIES: GOALS AND BENEFITS

Abstract

Open science, based on high standards of transparency, cooperation and communication, is a priority for the development of research policy in the European Research Area (ERA) and the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The purpose of the article is to analyse the essence of Open Science, its goals and benefits, as well as the necessary changes for large-scale implementation of Open Science policy in universities. Methods of analysis, synthesis, comparison, systematization of scientific works of foreign and domestic scientists and documents of EHEA and ERA are used. Open science is seen as a new approach to the scientific process based on collaboration and new ways of disseminating knowledge through digital technologies and new tools for collaboration. The main goal of Open Science is to improve the exchange, transfer and access to scientific knowledge. The advantages of Open Science are defined as follows: increasing the efficiency of science by reducing duplication and costs of creating, transmitting and reusing data; increasing transparency and quality in the process of confirming the reliability of research results; accelerating the transfer of knowledge, promoting a faster transition from research to innovation; increasing the impact of research results on the economy; a more effective response to global challenges that require coordinated international action; promoting the involvement of citizens in research, active participation in scientific experiments and data collection. It is concluded that Open Science, by maximizing the benefits of the free movement of knowledge, provides a movement towards the fifth freedom in Europe (along with the freedom to move goods, services, persons and capital). The transition to large-scale implementation of Open Science practice in universities requires changes that cover a wide range of academic activities at the institutional level and include: promoting increased knowledge transfer and cooperation between the academic and non-academic sectors; focus on knowledge transfer in the context of digitalization; optimizing the role of universities in research infrastructures.