The 13th Annual Meeting of the Global Research Council (GRC) was held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, from May 18 to 22, 2025. The event was co-organized by TÜBİTAK, the Research, Development and Innovation Authority (RDIA) of Saudi Arabia, and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST).
At the 13th GRC Annual Meeting, principles and approaches to strengthen scientific cooperation in addressing global challenges were discussed. TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM organized the only side event accepted under the open access theme. The acceptance of TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM’s side event at the GRC Annual Meeting, where numerous proposals were submitted from around the world, combined with the selection of open science as the theme for GRC 2026, further highlighted the importance of this event.
Within the scope of the meeting, TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM hosted a special session titled “Regional Perspective on Open Science and Open Access Initiatives,” moderated by TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM Director Mehmet Mirat Satoğlu. Glenn Hampson (Open Scholarship Initiative), Colleen Campbell (Max Planck Digital Library), Dr. Khalid Aldakkan (KACST) attended the session as speakers.
Regional Perspective on Open Science and Open Access Initiatives
Glenn Hampson discussed the historical evolution of openness and the various definitions of “open,” emphasizing the need for a new open access approach based on the actual needs of researchers.
Colleen Campbell highlighted the financial burdens of the current publishing system, stating that transformative agreements offer researchers transparent, fair, and accessible publication opportunities. She also pointed out that the increasing commercialization of publishers threatens equitable access to knowledge.
Dr. Khalid Aldakkan shared insights into the development of open access policies in Saudi Arabia and the regional challenges faced.
Mehmet Mirat Satoğlu shared Türkiye’s experiences in its open access transition, underlining the need to reform research evaluation systems and to promote models similar to SCOAP3.
The event concluded with an interactive session where participants' views were gathered, followed by a Q&A session.
Aiming to enhance communication and collaboration among funding organizations, the GRC brings together the heads of funding agencies every year at its annual meetings.
TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM continues to contribute to the development of open science and open access policies, to increase international visibility of Türkiye’s perspective in this area, and to strengthen collaborations.
