Bouke Oudega

Professor Institute for Molecular Biological Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Prof.dr. Bouke Oudega and various other administrators, university professors, and university deans give their view on Open Access in a short film commissioned by SURF:

Dutch higher education institutions believe that radical improvements need to be made in Open Access to knowledge, information and data. Compared to the age of paper, digitisation of research and scientific/scholarly communication opens up opportunities that are still underutilised. Improved access creates a solid basis for the transfer of knowledge in education, knowledge generation for research, and knowledge valorisation for civil society. The central idea is that the results of publicly financed research should also be available to the public.

The Dutch higher education sector has declared 2009 to be Open Access Year. The aim is to boost Open Access to the results of scientific/scholarly and practice-based research. Efforts will be made throughout the year to formulate and implement an Open Access policy, develop and improve the knowledge infrastructure, establish a clear legal framework, and create awareness with all stakeholders.