The event will be hosted at the Faculty of Law - Conference room, via Verdi 35

Twenty-years ago, when Open Access and Open Science made their first appearances, the Internet was still a promising instrument to devolve powers and foster democracy. At that time, academic and scientific institutions, which were supposed to function not-for-profit, appeared to be playing a fundamental role in the creation of infrastructures, processes and contents of Open Science.

Today, open science has progressed considerably. There is a large quantity of scientific contents (software, publications and data) that are available free of charge and may be reused, as licensed under open licences such as Creative Commons.

• But what is exactly the role of universities and other non-profit academic or scientific bodies in the framework of open science?
• Can the university still claim a leading role in fostering open science or is it inescapably part of the business mechanism that is dominated by commercial platforms with a huge power to control information?
• Considering the noticeable influence of commercial publishers’ databases, of general and scientific social networks, and of search engines, what is the right role of universities?
• Does open science represent a bulwark of university autonomy and academic freedom?

During this one-day conference experts with different and international backgrounds will attempt to answer such questions sharing their experience and vision for open science with participants.