Who are we?

We are the Open Science Community Maastricht (OSCM), an inter-faculty group that promotes Open Science all throughout Maastricht University. Together with our partner communities across the Netherlands, we aim to make science open and FAIR for everyone. If you are looking for more information on Open Science, you have come to the right place! You can find out more about: Or follow us on Linkedin or Mastodon!

The logo of OSCM was adopted from the OSCU logo, originally created by Anita Eerland.

NEWS

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN: Open Science Festival Limburg 11 & 12 June 2026

The Open Science Community Maastricht and the Open Science Community Parkstad warmly invite researchers, educators, students, and anyone curious about Open Science to sign up for the Open Science Festival Limburg 2026. The festival takes place on 11 and 12 June 2026 and will bring our community together across two locations with activities in Heerlen (11 June) and Maastricht (12 June).

Over two inspiring days, we’ll explore the theme of interdisciplinarity. Participants can look forward to workshops, keynote presentations, interactive sessions, and opportunities to connect with colleagues from both within and beyond the Open Science Community. Whether you’re looking to gain new insights, share your experiences, or simply connect with others who are passionate about Open Science, there will be plenty of opportunities to engage and exchange ideas.

Register now for the Open Science Festival Limburg  and view the full programme

Why join the festival?

Open Science is about making research more open, transparent, and collaborative by encouraging the sharing of results, data, and methods. It creates space for stronger interdisciplinary collaboration and fosters meaningful connections with society.

For researchers, this means greater visibility, improved reproducibility, and new opportunities for collaboration. Educators benefit from access to open educational resources, while policymakers and the wider public gain better access to knowledge, enabling more informed decision-making and greater societal impact.

The festival’s focus on interdisciplinarity  brings these values to life by connecting people from different fields, backgrounds, and perspectives. It’s a chance to learn from one another, spark new ideas, and build collaborations that go beyond disciplinary boundaries. 

Contact

For any questions about the Open Science Festival Limburg, please send an e-mail to: osc-maastricht@maastrichtuniversity.nl.

Open Science Festival Limburg 11 & 12 June 2026

The Open Science Community Maastricht, together with the Open Science Community Parkstad, is organizing a the Open Science Festival Limburg on June 11–12, 2026 focusing on the theme of interdisciplinarity. Save these Dates!

The Maastricht program on June 12th will include parallel 60–90-minute workshop sessions and other, creative forms of engaging with academic audiences.

Call for proposals

Do you have experience working in inter- or multidisciplinary teams while adhering to Open Science practices? Have you encountered any challenges or experimented with best practices? Then please consider contributing to the Maastricht program! Please find more information here.

The program for the locations Heerlen (11th June) and Maastricht (12th June), and additional information can be found here, closer to the date of the event.

Series of Open Science Videos

Maastricht University endorses the principles of Open Science, offering its academics support to put these principles into practice and make science “as open as possible, as closed as necessary”.

In this way, they strengthen ties with their communities and improve their relationships on many levels, from regional to international and from citizens to professionals.

Open Science can contribute to making science more visible, in the broadest sense of the word.

Now a series of videos is available with information covering the different subjects within the Open Science field (click on the image or here).

Looking back: connecting citizens and science

On 15 December 2025, the UM Library welcomed citizens, researchers and science enthusiasts to the Citizen Science Matchmaking Event at the Theater aan het Vrijthof. We look back on a vibrant event where members of the public explored and actively participated in research projects from across the region.

The event, supported by a Dutch Research Council (NWO) grant, brought together a range of projects in an engaging science fair and speed-dating format. Participants were able to try out hands-on research activities and provide input, from developing AI tools and contributing to local history projects, to exploring apps for chronic pain management, financial literacy workshops and more.

Melissa Prinz, Citizen Science Project Officer:
I think this event did what it set out to do, which was to spark new interest in Citizen Science amongst the public. Citizen participants were very enthusiastic about the chance to engage with several projects at once, and loved the matchmaking, speed-dating format. There was definitely eagerness amongst everyone involved for more events like this!



The aftermovie captures the energy and enthusiasm of attendees as they connected with researchers and learned more about how Citizen Science brings academia and the wider community together.

    Preregistration in academia – Making research more findable and reliable

    The Open Science Community Maastricht (OSCM) highlights the value of preregistration in academic research through a dedicated video. Although preregistration is more common in some disciplines than others, all researchers can benefit from this practice to improve transparency and credibility.

    Voices from the field

    Recorded at the Maastricht School of Business and Economics (SBE), the video features Dr Roman Briker (Assistant Professor in Organisational Behaviour & HRM) and Dr Monika Barget (Assistant Professor in History). Roman and Monika are also the OSCM Open Science ambassadors for their respective faculties. Together, they discuss how preregistration can:
    • Increase transparency, reliability, and trust in your findings
    • Prevent research fraud
    • Protect researchers’ intellectual property

    Announcing the five OSCM small grants winners

    Last December, the Open Science Community Maastricht announced a new funding opportunity made possible by through the Impuls grant received by Open Science NL through NWO.


    The call was aimed at supporting small, action-focused, and innovative projects that promote Open Science within the Maastricht University faculties.


    From a total number of 29 high-quality, interesting applications,  5 were selected for funding, read more…

    Highlights from the National Open Science Festival 2024

    On 22 October, Maastricht University (UM) proudly hosted the 4th edition of the National Open Science Festival. Guided by the motto ‘Meet, share, inspire, care’ over 350 visitors from the education and research sectors across the Netherlands gathered for a day of engaging discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities, all focused on advancing Open Science.


    The event’s aftermovie offers a glimpse into the vibrant atmosphere and the diverse perspectives shared throughout the day.

    EVENTS

    2026 Events coming soon!
    Date/Time Event
    June 11, 2026 - June 12, 2026
    9:30 am - 5:30 pm     		Open Science Festival Limburg 2026
    Open Universiteit Heerlen & Maastricht University,