Introduction to Open Education and Open Science

1. Introduction

In a time when access to information is crucial, understanding the concepts of open education and open science is becoming increasingly important for the development of individuals and society as a whole.

The primary goal of open education is to foster accessible, unbiased, inclusive, and high-quality education. Meanwhile, the primary goal of open science is to make scientific research and its results accessible to everyone in order to encourage transparency, collaboration, faster scientific progress, and greater social impact.

Concepts such as open access, open science, open education, and open educational practices are intertwined and form a comprehensive approach toward openness and the dissemination of information. Open science ensures the transparency and accessibility of research results, while open education strives for free access to educational resources. Furthermore, open educational practices demonstrate the practical application of these principles in everyday teaching, allowing teachers and students to freely use, adapt, and share educational materials.

The historical development of open education and science, with an emphasis on key declarations and initiatives from the early 2000s, clearly defined the principles of open access. In the early 2000s, the open science movement was defined by three key declarations: the Budapest Open Access Initiative (2002), which laid the foundations for free access to peer-reviewed publications; the Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing (2003); and the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities (2003), which expanded these principles to all forms of scientific knowledge.

Simultaneously, the Cape Town Open Education Declaration (2008) and the UNESCO 2012 Paris OER Declaration were pivotal for open education. The Cape Town Declaration calls for the free use and sharing of educational resources with the participation of all stakeholders. The Paris Declaration defines Open Educational Resources (OER) as free materials under open licenses and encourages governments to ensure their accessibility. Both were crucial for the global development of open education.

2. Open Education

Source: Open Education Centre for Scientific Information at the Ruđer Bošković Institute

3. Open Science

Open science is a set of principles and practices aimed at making scientific research from all fields and in all languages accessible, reusable, and shareable to everyone for the benefit of scientists and society as a whole. Open science ensures the accessibility and reproducibility of knowledge and the results of scientific activity, as well as the inclusiveness, equity, and sustainability of scientific production (source at the link). It enables collaboration and contribution so that research data, research notes, and other research processes are freely available in a way that allows for their reuse, sharing, and reproduction.

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Open science encompasses much more than open access to publications, research protocols, and data (link). It promotes the entire open process of creating and sharing knowledge, including:

• open scientific communication and the popularization of science

• open dialogue and the peer-review process

• open evaluation

• open formats, data, and tools

• open standards

• open scientific infrastructure and software codes

• open education

• citizen science

The benefits of open science are:

• it accelerates scientific progress through faster dissemination and easier access to results

• it increases the transparency and reliability of research by enabling the verification of data and methods

• it encourages collaboration and interdisciplinarity among researchers

• it reduces research redundancy and saves resources

• it democratizes access to knowledge for the general public and scientists from less developed countries

• it increases the visibility and citation of scientific papers

• it holds potential for innovation through the reuse of data and discoveries

• it enables greater public involvement in the scientific process (so-called citizen science)

4. Principles of Open Science

The European Commission, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and UNESCO identified key principles of open science, which include [9]:

5. Conclusion

Open education and open science share a similar vision: making knowledge and education widely accessible. Open science can enrich open education by providing real research data and methods for learning, while open education can help disseminate knowledge and scientific discoveries to a wider audience.

For these concepts to take root, it is crucial to define clear policies and strategies at all levels, foster a culture of openness throughout society, and ensure the necessary resources while respecting intellectual property rights.

The application of open education and open science concepts should be one of the priorities outlined in institutional strategic documents. It is precisely in the first course of the "Management of Digitalisation in Educational Institutions" programme, titled Strategic Planning for the Application of Digital Technologies, that it is addressed how values such as openness and transparency become an integral part of an institution's vision and mission.

6. Self-Assessment and Reflection Questions

1. Describe how the concepts of open science, open education, and open educational practices relate to and complement each other. What is the purpose of each within the framework of openness?
2. Which three key declarations from the early 2000s defined the principles of open access in science, and which declaration is central to the global development of open education? State at least one purpose or principle defined in one of those declarations.
3. Describe what Open Educational Resources (OER) are and list at least three main benefits of their use for students and teachers, considering aspects such as cost, flexibility, or innovation.
4. Explain why open science encompasses much more than just open access to publications and data. List at least three components that open science promotes (for example, regarding communication, peer review, or infrastructure).
5. What are the key principles of open science, including the FAIR principles, and describe them. Choose one of the mentioned principles and try to explain specifically what you could do within your field of activity to support and apply that principle.

7. Literature

Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities. (October 22, 2003). Max Planck Society. 

Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing. (June 19, 2003). Peter Suber's Open Access Project. 

Budapest Open Access Initiative. (February 14, 2002). Read the Budapest Open Access Initiative.

Cape Town Open Education Declaration. (January 22, 2008). Unlocking the promise of open educational resources.

European Commission. (n.d.). Open Science.

Ministry of Science, Education and Youth. (2025). Hrvatski plan za otvorenu znanost.

OECD. (2015). Making Open Science a Reality. (OECD Science, Technology and Industry Policy Papers, No. 25). OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/5jrs2f963zs1-en.

Otvorena znanost. (n.d.). Otvorena znanost. 

UNESCO. (2021). UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science.