The Applied Research and Innovation Centre (ARIC) concluded its three-day workshop series, “Navigating the Open Science Landscape: From Theory to Practice (INSIGHT),” held at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) Main Campus in Paola.

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Held between 8 and 10 April 2025, the series brought together international experts, along with MCAST ARIC staff and researchers, to gain insight on the opportunities and challenges in Open Science, research data management, and open access publishing, while showcasing a spirit of collaborative learning. Through initiatives like INSIGHT, ARIC continues to support the professional development of researchers through capacity building on Open Science.

The workshops featured four renowned international experts:
• Milica Ševkušić – Librarian and Repository Manager, Institute of Technical Sciences of SASA, Belgrade, Serbia; also Open Access Programme Coordinator at EIFL, Lithuania.
• Obrad Vučkovac – Head of Library and Repository Manager, VINČA Institute of Nuclear Sciences – National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade.
• Ljiljana Radisavljević – Librarian and Repository Manager, Institute for Vegetable Crops, Smederevska Palanka, Serbia.
• Zorica Janković – Librarian and Repository Manager, University of Belgrade – Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković,” National Institute of the Republic of Serbia.

Throughout the three-day series, participants engaged in comprehensive sessions on the practical implementation of Open Science:
• 8 April 2025: The opening day provided an introduction to the fundamental concepts of Open Science, emphasizing the development of institutional repositories, best practices, and the practical steps required to implement Open Access and Open Data initiatives.
• 9 April 2025: The focus shifted to research data management, with discussions centered on the application of FAIR and CARE principles, practical aspects of responsible research and innovation (RRI), and demonstrations of data management planning tools.
• 10 April 2025: The final day concentrated on strategic approaches to Open Science. Sessions addressed effective open access journal management, quality assurance in scholarly publishing, and best practices to enhance research visibility and accessibility.

The workshop series Navigating the Open Science Landscape: From Theory to Practice (INSIGHT) was financed by the Research Networking Scheme (RNS) 2024 of Xjenza Malta (GA: RNS-2024-027).