You can check how up to date this material is by checking when its source (the repository) was last updated. In order to do that run the code below:

import requests
from datetime import datetime, timezone

repo_api_url = "https://api.github.com/repos/apawlik/FAIR-data-jupyter4NFDI"

response = requests.get(repo_api_url)

if response.status_code == 200:
    repo_data = response.json()

    updated_at = repo_data["updated_at"]

    # Convert GitHub timestamp to datetime object
    updated_date = datetime.strptime(updated_at, "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")
    updated_date = updated_date.replace(tzinfo=timezone.utc)

    # Current time
    now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)

    # Calculate difference
    days_ago = (now - updated_date).days

    print("Repository last updated:")
    print(updated_date.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S UTC"))

    print(f"\nThat was {days_ago} days ago.")

else:
    print("Could not access the GitHub repository.")

What is Open Science?¶

Module 1 — Open Science Training

Learning objectives¶

By the end of this notebook you will be able to:

Define Open Science and explain why it matters.
Identify the main pillars of Open Science.
Locate the key policies and frameworks shaping Open Science in Europe.
Reflect on your own research practice in relation to Open Science.

Estimated time: 20 minutes
Level: Introductory
Prerequisites: None

1. Defining Open Science¶

Open Science is not a single practice — it is a movement and a set of principles that aim to make scientific research and its outputs more transparent, accessible, and reusable.

The UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science (2021) defines it as:

“Open Science is a set of principles and practices that aim to make scientific research from all fields accessible to everyone for the benefit of scientists and society as a whole.”

Open Science encompasses:

Pillar	What it means
Open access	Publications freely available to read
Open data	Research data shared with appropriate metadata
Open source	Software and code published under open licences
Open methods	Protocols, workflows, and lab notebooks shared
Open peer review	Transparent review processes
Open education	Training materials and curricula freely shared
Citizen science	Public participation in research

2. The Open Science landscape in Europe¶

Several major initiatives and frameworks shape Open Science policy in Europe:

European Open Science Cloud (EOSC): A federated infrastructure for storing, sharing, and reusing research outputs across European institutions.
Horizon Europe: The EU’s main research funding programme, which requires open access to publications and encourages open data.
Research Data Alliance (RDA): A global community building the social and technical infrastructure to enable open data sharing.
NFDI (Germany): The National Research Data Infrastructure, which Jupyter4NFDI is a part of (as a Base Service).

Why does this matter for you?¶

If you receive public funding — especially from the European Commission — you are increasingly required to share your data and publications openly. Understanding the landscape helps you comply with mandates and take advantage of available infrastructure.

Exercise — Reflection¶

Take 5 minutes to think about your own research or work. In the cell below, write (as a comment or string) one thing you currently do that could be described as Open Science, and one barrier you face.

# Your reflection here.
# Example:
# Open practice I already do: "I share my analysis scripts on GitHub"
# A barrier I face: "My funder requires an embargo on the data"

my_open_practice = ""
my_barrier = ""

print(f"Open practice: {my_open_practice}")
print(f"Barrier: {my_barrier}")

Summary¶

Open Science is a broad movement covering access, data, code, methods, and education.
In Europe, it is increasingly mandated by funders and supported by infrastructure like EOSC and NFDI.
You likely already practice some elements of Open Science — the goal is to make this more systematic.

What is Open Science?