REPRESENTATIVES OF LIBRARIES AND OPEN SCIENCE WORKING GROUP AT THE T4EU WEEK IN LISBON
From 25 to 29 May 2026, the T4EU Week took place in Lisbon, Portugal, at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa under the slogan “Community, Communities: Engage to Transform”, which was also attended by representatives of libraries and Open Science Working Group. The European University Transform4Europe (T4EU) brings together 11 universities from different countries with a common vision for the future of higher education in Europe.
This was the first time that the library representatives met in person, as they recognised their role in the connection a year ago and spontaneously formed an informal group. As part of the presentations of special library projects, Tina Lekan Kraševec presented the 24/7 operating system of the Central Unit University Library, which attracted the most interest among the participants, as UP UK is the only member of the association that offers its users constant access to library materials and study spots.
Dr. Ana Slavec (UP FAMNIT and UP IAM) participated as a speaker at the Community, Communities panel discussion on communities in open science, organised by the University Library of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa. In the discussion, she presented the Slovenian Open Science Community, of which she has been the president since the end of 2024. Other speakers were Paulo Lopes (Portuguese Open Access Scientific Repository, RCAAP), Filipa Pereira (Foundation for Science and Technology), Pedro Principe (University of Minho) and Cristina Luis (NOVA University Lisbon), who presented various open science initiatives in Portugal. At the meeting of the Open Science Working Group, an evaluation of the series of lectures on open science that took place in March and April was presented, and in the second part, the discussion was focused on future activities.
In addition to the professional work at the University Library of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, the organisers arranged tours of numerous interesting libraries, museums and other cultural institutions in Lisbon. Among others, they presented the Art Library and the Gulbenkian Archive, the Brotéria Cultural House and its library, and the Belém district. At the book fair in Edward VII Park, representatives of the host university presented the book Community, Communities: Engage to Transform, which is dedicated to the T4EU association. The T4EU week offered an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences, future plans, and further connections.
