UC launches new curricular units to support and reward open science practices

The University of Coimbra (UC) has recently launched two new curricular units for both 2nd and 3rd cycle courses across all UC faculties, designed to support and formally recognize master's and doctoral students for implementing reproducible, reusable, and open research (RROR) practices in their thesis research.

The new course units were created within the framework of TREASURE, a pilot institutional project testing changes in research assessment, and are available for registration in the current academic year (2025/26) via InforEstudante. The innovation of these units lies in the scope of the practices considered, the implementation objectives of the thesis, and the scope of the TREASURE project itself, which aims to test how to formally reward these practices and normalize their inclusion in research assessment, hiring, and career promotion procedures. "TREASURE is a vital project for the UC rectory, falling within the scope of open science and responsible and reproducible research policies», states the UC Vice-Rector for Research, Professor João Ramalho-Santos, also coordinator of the pilot project.

These course units, developed with the support of the Rector's Office, aim to take a hands-on, practical approach, responding to the research areas and projects of participating students, and drawing on the multi- and interdisciplinary nature of the approach and of TREASURE itself. The list of RROR practices and products, and procedures for this first edition resulted from a consultative and co-creative process with the Local Advisory Board, composed of students, advisors and course coordinators from different organic units of the University of Coimbra, consulting also with external expert members. Some of the practices and outputs considered are: open source code, data sharing, reproducible methods, preregistrations, reusable materials, science communication, citizen science and open educational resources.

Second- and third-cycle students will be able to select the units as early as this academic year (2025/2026), at the time of enrolment, via InforEstudante. The courses are optional, extra-ECTS, and can be attended as additional training or on an open list if the study plan allows it, which means they can be attended at no additional cost.

These units are offered in B-learning format (combining face-to-face and online classes) and are organized so that they can be selected at the beginning of the research thesis’s work, and in its final phase. At the beginning of the program (first unit - Reproducible, reusable and open research I: Introduction to Certification), each student selects the practices and/or products that best suit their area and research project, defining an implementation plan, and at the end of the program (second unit - Reproducible, Reusable and Open Research II: Implementing the Certification), the plan and its implementation are reviewed and assessed, with sharing of lessons learned. The program prioritizes quality over quantity (students are motivated to select less and implement better).

This offer is in line with the European Commission's directives and its Responsible Research and Innovation, which includes open and participatory science. In particular, it aligns with the recommendations of the agreement promoted by the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA), of which UC and the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) are signatories, as well as other Portuguese universities and institutions, with funding from the CoARA Boost program. More broadly, it aligns with the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), the Leiden Manifesto, among others.

More information is available at the TREASURE website.