Open Science: My journey and expectatives as a PhD candidate
Firstly, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the creators and organizers of the Open Science course: Professor Dr. Eva Méndez and Pablo Sánchez. Their dedication and passion to this course have profoundly inspired me. The insights and knowledge gained from this course have been invaluable, opening my eyes to the importance and practicalities of Open Science.
Participating in this course has motivated me to promote Open Science within my research field, robotics. The course gives useful tools and knowledge to deal with several challenges present in this field, such as the private storage of data, restrictive code licenses, and the dominance of non-open access journals. These barriers often harm collaboration and slow down the progress of innovation. Moreover, the discussions and resources provided during the course made me realize the significant benefits that Open Science practices can bring, not only in terms of advancing knowledge but also to a more collaborative and inclusive research environment.
As I am starting my PhD, I think I am ready to become an Open Scientist. During my thesis, I plan to share my research data and code openly on platforms like GitHub and Zenodo, ensuring that my work is reproducible and accessible to others. To this end, I have personally committed myself to follow the Data Management Plan (DMP) that we were taught to do in the course. In addition, I will publish my findings in open access journals to reach a broader audience and contribute to the collective knowledge pool. Also, I will document my research process meticulously, providing comprehensive explanations and guides to maintain transparency and foster collaboration with other researchers. By adopting these practices, I hope to encourage my colleagues to embrace Open Science.
In conclusion, my journey into Open Science has just begun, but the impact of this course has been remarkable. I believe that by embracing openness and transparency in my works, I am not only contributing to the advancement of my research field but also to the movement towards a more open scientific community. Because I think that the landscape of research is changing, and Open Science is one of the main objectives of this transformation. Moreover, despite the current challenges, it is up to us, the new generation of scientists, to lead this change and pave the way for a broader extension and adoption of open science. Together, we can overcome these challenges and create a future where knowledge is freely shared, and collaboration knows no bounds.