Academic organisations have changed substantially in recent decades in terms of their tasks, structure and culture due to increased internationalisation, lower government influence and funding, and larger influence from external stakeholders. Like other public organisations, universities are increasingly financed in an output-oriented manner, and therefore emphasis on performance has grown.

As I’m writing this, on Easter 2020, the big wave of COVID-19 infections spreads as a slow-motion tsunami over our planet, wreaking havoc in many families, communities and businesses all over the world. Knowing a thing or two about contagion dynamics, I started following this pandemic when there were still just 881 confirmed cases in Wuhan, hoping, or actually expecting an adequate response.

Many scholars at CWTS are now working hard, as they are elsewhere, to make some meaningful and helpful contribution in the current crisis. Being neither biomedical specialists, nor specifically engaged in topics related to disease or epidemics, a Science and Technology Studies research center like CWTS might not be the most logical of places to start doing Covid-19 related research projects.

Introduction The current COVID-19 crisis has prompted hand-wringing and self-reflection among some museum professionals. What, they are asking, is the point of a museum that remains closed to the public? How can museums remain relevant if people can’t visit them? Can exhibitions, which take years to plan and execute, be transferred to the digital realm, in order to keep museums open virtually?

Agata Komendant-Brodowska Since covid-19 started to spread, I’ve reacted twofold. Of course, this is a huge crisis, so, on the one hand I’ve been worried, sad and scared. On the other hand, there are a lot of massive social processes happening right now in front of our eyes, almost in ‘fast forward’ mode, so I’ve also been observing what is happening as a researcher interested in social dynamics.

Open Access (OA) is key to achieve a greater dissemination of knowledge among scholars. Its benefits are acknowledged and advocated by many researchers, universities, and funding agencies internationally. They have produced global manifestos and implemented collective actions to make publicly-funded research open.

By Mario Malički and Juan Pablo Alperin This blog post is inspired by our four part series documenting the methodological […]

On February 26th, what feels like a lifetime ago now, the Los Angeles Times published a column with the headline ‘COVID-19 could kill the for-profit science publishing model.

At CWTS, many researchers travel around the world to attend conferences, meet with relevant stakeholders, give lectures and/or provide trainings. But what are the costs of all these travels? There are many reasons to avoid flying and to facilitate virtual conferencing, including climate change, work pressure, and seeking to include a diverse audience.

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Intro” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] Tracking Open Access in times of COVID-19 Here, we measure in near time the number of publications on COVID-19 and Sars-CoV-2 and the share of Open Access publications.