The first day of the conference was dynamic, insightful, and highly representative of the current trends shaping Ukraine’s research ecosystem. It brought together experts from research institutions, universities, libraries, as well as representatives of the public sector and international organizations. Together, they outlined a shared vision for transforming Ukrainian science in line with European standards of openness, transparency, and sustainability.

The first thematic block focused on the strategic development of Ukraine’s research infrastructure, particularly its alignment with the European frameworks defined by the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI). Speakers presented the experiences of EU countries in designing and implementing roadmaps, emphasizing the importance of long-term vision, transparent funding mechanisms, and national coordination.

Special attention was given to the RIFF project (Research Infrastructures for the Future of Ukraine), which aims to develop a roadmap for the sustainable recovery of Ukraine’s research capacities. The discussion highlighted that rebuilding infrastructure must combine physical reconstruction with institutional renewal — modernizing data management, adopting international standards, and implementing open approaches to scientific information.

A key analytical focus was placed on the URIS National Electronic Research Information System, presented by the team from the State Scientific and Technical Library of Ukraine. URIS serves as a central element of Ukraine’s open science ecosystem, enabling the integration of research data, metadata, publications, projects, and persistent identifiers.

Challenges related to the visibility of Ukrainian digital repositories in the global research landscape were also discussed. Participants noted the issues of low indexing levels, insufficient metadata quality, and the need for standardized open access policies. It was emphasized that enhancing technical interoperability and developing community-driven practices could significantly improve the international presence of Ukrainian research data.

Overall, the panel concluded that Ukraine possesses strong scientific potential but requires clear government coordination, synergy among ministries, the Academy of Sciences, universities, and libraries, as well as participation in pan-European platforms to ensure full integration into the European Research Area.

The second panel focused on the reform of research assessment, one of the key components of Ukraine’s scientific modernization. Discussions centered on how the current state certification of higher education and research institutions could be updated in accordance with the principles of CoARA (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment), which promotes multidimensional evaluation focused on quality, openness, and societal impact.

Participants underscored the need to move beyond quantitative indicators (such as citation indexes or impact factors) toward a comprehensive analysis that values contributions to open science, interdisciplinarity, collaboration, and innovation potential.

From an analytical standpoint, the panel stressed that the reform of academic journals will play a crucial role in this process, as journals are the primary channels for communicating research results. Ukrainian journals need to align with European standards of openness — adopting open access policies, improving peer review quality, and implementing DOI and ORCID identifiers as mandatory components.

The European experience of recognizing open science practices was also discussed. The example of the Netherlands demonstrated that incentive systems acknowledging openness, community engagement, and data transparency foster sustainable scientific development and enhance public trust in research institutions.

The third panel had a more practical and conceptual focus, addressing data management, research reproducibility, and the role of academic libraries in building open research ecosystems.

Participants explored how metadata affect the transparency and reliability of research processes. It was shown that proper structuring, description, and long-term preservation of data not only enable reuse but also strengthen confidence in scientific findings.

Examples of university-based open science models were presented, illustrating how libraries play a key role in providing research data management services, training researchers in the FAIR principles, and ensuring institutional open science policies.

A particularly engaging discussion centered on reproducibility and research integrity, emphasizing that data openness is not merely a technical issue but an ethical obligation of the scientific community. It was noted that Ukrainian institutions must develop their own data management policies and integrate them into international initiatives such as EOSC (European Open Science Cloud).

Analytically, the panel demonstrated that research reproducibility has become a new criterion of trust in science. Without open data, transparent processes, and validation of results, Ukraine’s further integration into the European research space would remain incomplete.

In conclusion, the first day of the conference confirmed that Ukraine possesses all the prerequisites to build a modern open science ecosystem — from institutional readiness to international partnerships. At the same time, the discussions highlighted the need for a unified strategy that combines digital transformation, openness, quality, and global trust.

Recordings of all sessions are available online via the link.

The second day of the conference continues today — everyone interested is still welcome to join.