7 August 2025
The Rector of the University of Warsaw, Professor Alojzy Z Nowak, has signed an official directive implementing the university’s Open Science Policy. This initiative establishes core principles and guidelines for open access to research results, including academic publications and research data produced at the university.
The policy supports the goals of Action V.3.3 of the “Excellence Initiative – Research University” (IDUB) program and aligns with recommendations from the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education issued in 2015 regarding open access development.
As part of the policy implementation, two institutional repositories have been developed:
- University of Warsaw Research Publications Repository: repozytorium.uw.edu.pl, managed by the University Library
- University of Warsaw Research Data Repository: danebadawcze.uw.edu.pl, operated by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling (ICM)
Starting 1 February 2026, all scientific publications by university-affiliated researchers must be submitted to the institutional repository. Research data should be deposited either in the UW Research Data Repository or in a trusted domain-specific repository.
“This policy is a crucial step toward modern, responsible, and transparent science,” said Professor Zygmunt Lalak, Vice-Rector for Research. “It is based on thorough analysis and best research practices, enabling safe use of shared resources.”
Key benefits of the policy and repositories include:
- Equal access to knowledge – free and easy availability of full-text publications and data
- Increased research visibility and impact – greater access enhances citation and reuse
- Transparency and replicability – open data allows for result verification and trust in science
- Improved collaboration and resource efficiency – prevents research duplication
- Enhanced data quality – promotes careful planning and documentation
- Support for education and citizen science – open materials usable in teaching and public engagement
- Fair use and promotion of open licenses – respects copyright and ethical standards
- Easy bibliography management – supports report generation and export in various formats
- User-friendly tools and integration with UW systems – simplifies access and institutional usage
Training sessions on using the new tools and implementing the policy will launch at the beginning of the 2025/2026 academic year. Additional materials will be published on the websites of the University of Warsaw and its library.
University of Warsaw
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