InES Open Science Project UdeC establishes a commission to improve postgraduate thesis management

The establishment of a single structure that sets the deadlines and procedures with the aim of encouraging postgraduate students to publish on university platforms, was the main conclusion of the first meeting of the working group between the project InES Open Science and the Postgraduate Directorate of the UdeC.

At the meeting, held at the Central Library, the current situation of the university was analyzed and the actions to be followed were defined, which include weekly meetings together with the revision of the tools already existing that may be of interest for the progress of the initiative.

One of the main challenges is related to the preparation of an improvement plan for the postgraduate thesis publication process and your data repository.

For the Deputy Director of the Postgraduate Directorate, louis barthis task is of great importance since it is expected that what is generated through the different postgraduate programs will grant visibility and allows the community to show all the knowledge that exists in the UdeC.

“A lot of work is done on research, each student develops in that area and deep down, when doing a postgraduate degree – for example, at the doctorate level – what is sought is train a person in research autonomy. That finally has to be demonstrated with a final thesis and the demands of the different programs ask, among other things, that at least two articles of that thesis be published, ”he indicated.

The Director of Libraries UdeC, Karen Jara, He pointed out the importance for the institution of coordinating with other departments in order to facilitate the process of finishing research for students.

“For us it is transcendental since the project InES Open Science it has an institutional perspective and, as the Vice-Rector for Research has mentioned, it is very important not to replicate efforts and -even more- to work in a coordinated manner, the mainstreaming conversation and that everyone feels integrated in this step that we are going to take “, assured.

disparate procedures

The advances that are expected to be made in the coming years are considered in a scenario that can be complex for those who are finishing their academic cycle and must carry out a final investigation that captures the knowledge acquired.

Currently, each unit has its procedures for the review and delivery of theses, so the role of Libraries is limited to their reception. When submitting the thesis, the student must sign a letter of authorization granting the right to publish the work, a procedure originally intended for undergraduates but which must have been extended to postgraduate.

However, on many occasions the transfer cannot be carried out because the person who prepared the material hopes to obtain a patent or has an embargo commitment with restricted access scientific publications.

The latter is one of the main challenges faced by the InES Open Science project of the University, which has been proposed as a goal make visible most of the scientific production of the institution, which includes postgraduate theses. The foregoing, always respecting invention patents, processing of trademarks together with the registration of intellectual property.

The initiative is funded by the National Research and Development Agency (ANID) and in the UdeC it is executed the Vice President for Research and Development (VRID) next to UdeC Libraries.