OPEN ACCESS INITIATIVES AND CHALLENGES IN NEPAL

Dr. Roshan Karn

CURRENT EVENTS

• Open Access Nepal launched a 6 month long project called “Open Access: Greater Reach for Research” in 2015

• All 5 development regions have been targeted for this project

• Open Access advocacy campaigns are being done in major universities and campuses within each development region

Central Development Region

Kathmandu UniversityTribhuvan UniversityAgriculture and Forestry University

Eastern Development Region

Purbancal UniversityB.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences

Western Development Region

Pokhara University

Pashimanchal Engineering Campus

Mid-Western Development Region

Nepalgunj Medical College

Far Western Development Region

Far Western University

• A team of 7 members travel to 2 universities at the mid and end of each month

• It’s a 2 day event in each university

• Day1: Orientation about Open Access, Open Educational Resources, Open Data and Open Access Repository

• Day2: Workshops on topics such as Open Access Advocacy at local level, OER, Open Policy, Finding and Accessing Open Resources, Issues and Challenges related to Open Access and Digital Repository

CHALLENGES

• Major setback to the project due to the political crisis

• Travelling to universities outside the capital has been impaired due to the continuous strikes in plain areas

• Economic blockade has caused a severe crisis of petroleum products and fuel, strictly hampering our mobility

FUTURE PLANS• Organize a Regional South Asian Consultation on “Open

Access to Scientific Information and Research – Concept and Policies” in Kathmandu in February, 2016 with support from the Government of Nepal, UNESCO, EIFL, R2RC, INASP and GE2P2

• Develop Open Access repositories in Tribhuvan University and Institute of Medicine

• Multiple open events scheduled for the month of December

• Open Access Nepal has been assigned the task of establishing open repositories in member countries of South Asia through assistance from UNESCO

• Organize a national conference

Thank you