National Open Research Festival 2025 summary

Dr Michelle Doran, National Open Research Coordinator, speaking from the podium in the Meeting Room of the Royal Irish Academy showing its historic architecture and library collection. Rows of benches are filled with event attendees.

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Posted by Ellie Cullen

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20 November 2025

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Blog | News | NORFest

Ireland’s National Open Research Festival (NORFest) 2025 took place on the 6-7 November, 2025 in the Royal Irish Academy (RIA), Dublin. This two-day booked-out event had over 150 guests in attendance. It shone a spotlight on global open science, cross-cutting policy agendas, and emerging themes in open research and innovation.

By Ellie Cullen and Michelle Doran

NORFest 2025 was delivered with the support of the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) and the Royal Irish Academy (RIA) and the expertise of the Festival Programme Committee. Funding for the event was provided by the Higher Education Authority (HEA).

This year’s event centred on the theme of ‘synergies’, highlighting the interconnectedness of open research across national and international policy frameworks and research strategies. By fostering collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and innovators, the festival aimed to strengthen the integration of open research principles into the broader research landscape. Through keynote addresses, panel discussions and interactive workshops, participants explored how open research can drive meaningful change by aligning efforts across global and local research initiatives.

The Festival was an in-person event with the option of watching the livestream of Day One via Zoom.

View the NORFest 2025 programme.

Day One

If you would like to catch up on NORFest Day One, the session recordings and presentation slides are openly available on Vimeo, SlideShare and the Royal Irish Academy’s YouTube channel.

William Beausang (pictured above) Assistant Secretary General of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science‘s Research and Innovation Policy, EU and International Division, opened the Festival by welcoming attendees to the Royal Irish Academy. He highlighted the substantial progress Ireland has made in embedding open research across the national research system — through shared policies, national infrastructure, and the collaborative work supported by the NORF Open Research Fund. Mr Beausang noted how the NORF-funded projects — driven by a remarkable network of experts and practitioners across Ireland — have advanced national capabilities in open access publishing and monitoring, data stewardship, research assessment reform, and open research training.

Dr Michelle Doran, National Open Research Coordinator also delivered opening remarks.

The keynote speaker was Ms Joy Owango (pictured above) Founding Director of the Training Centre in Communication (TCC Africa).

Ms Owango’s talk was titled ‘Global Open Research: Building Equitable and Sustainable Open Science Ecosystems’. Ms. Owango’s expertise and vision align powerfully with this year’s NORFest theme of synergies. Her work exemplifies how open research can bridge geographies, foster collaboration and drive innovation on a global scale. Her keynote encouraged participants to consider not only how open research strengthens international connections but also how it can ensure that diverse knowledge systems across the globe are valued and preserved.

Watch Ms. Joy Owango’s keynote address below:

Next was a panel discussion on ‘Global Open Research’. The session was chaired by Alexandra Delipalta, Director, RDA Europe and began with presentations from the three panelists:

Rebecca Lawrence, Vice-Chair of DORA;
Joy Owango, Founding Director of TCC Africa;
Lautaro Matas, Executive and Technical Director of LA Referencia.

Early career researcher panel session at NORFest 2023 which took place at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin, Ireland

Pictured (L-R): Alexandra Delipalta; Joy Owango; Rebecca Lawrence and Lautaro Matas.

This was followed by a set of five lightning talks based on the theme ‘Cross-cutting Policy Agendas’:

Co-designing a National Resource on the Responsible Use of Research Metric – Colleen Thomas, Research Culture & Engagement Manager, University College Dublin
Sharing Arts Practice Research FAIRly – Ed Kearns, Postdoctoral researcher, University of Limerick
Open Research Training for Health Science PhDs – Ruth Geraghty, Research Data Coordinator, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Communicating FAIR Expectations through Data Policies – Beth Knazook, Research Data Manager, Digital Repository of Ireland
A Call for a System-level Approach to Embed Open Research Practices and Advance Responsible Research Assessment – Simone O’Rourke, University College Cork

Ed Kearns, Postdoctoral researcher, University of Limerick and Colleen Thomas, Research Culture & Engagement Manager, University College Dublin standing at the podium in the historic Royal Irish Academy Meeting Room, delivering a talk during NORFest 2025.

Pictured (L-R): Ed Kearns; Colleen Thomas.

Beth Knazook, Research Data Manager, Digital Repository of Ireland, Ruth Geraghty, Research Data Coordinator, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Simone O’Rourke, Project Manager of the NORF-funded ABOARD project, University College Cork, standing at the podium in the historic Royal Irish Academy Meeting Room, delivering talks during NORFest 2025.

Pictured (L-R): Beth Knazook; Ruth Geraghty and Simone O’Rourke.

The lightning talks were followed by a second panel discussion, beginning first with introductory remarks ‘Knowledge Security and Open Science: It is complicated…’ by Franklin van der Hoeven, Programme Manager, Open Science, TU Delft, to set some context for the discussion.

The panel discussion titled ‘Connecting Research Security, Academic Freedom, and Research Integrity in an Open Research Environment’ was chaired by Labour Senator Laura Harmon, Spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science; Disability, with panelists:

Franklin van der Hoeven, TU Delft;
Pádraig Carmody MRIA, TCD, ALLEA Taskforce on Academic Freedom and Research Security;
Maura Hiney MRIA, Adjunct Professor of Research Integrity, UCD.

Maura Hiney MRIA, Pádraig Carmody MRIA, Franklin van der Hoeven and Senator Laura Harmon sitting on red chairs on a stage in the Meeting Room of the Royal Irish Academy, participating in a panel discussion during NORFest 2025 Day One. They are holding hand held microphones and a large projector screen is above their heads to the left.

Pictured (L-R): Maura Hiney MRIA; Pádraig Carmody MRIA; Franklin van der Hoeven and Senator Laura Harmon

Parallel to this, the ‘Open Research 101 Workshop’ titled ‘Qualitative Secondary Analysis (QSA): Extending FAIR Data Principles into Practice‘ took place.

Organised by Jane Gray, Principal Investigator, QSA*Net, Maynooth University and Rong Bao, Postdoctoral Researcher, QSA*Net, Maynooth University, hosted by Jane Gray. This workshop, based on research with Irish social scientists, provided practical engagement with qualitative secondary analysis (QSA) as an Open Research practice. Participants learned how to conduct QSA effectively and ethically, explored ways to overcome barriers to qualitative data reuse, and gained practical skills to integrate these approaches into their own research.

Individuals sitting at tables in the ornate Members' Room of the historic Royal Irish Academy building. They are at a workshop and have laptops, notes and a large screen at the top of the room.

Pictured: Professor Jane Grey hosting a workshop in the Members’ Room of the historic Royal Irish Academy building on 19 Dawson Street, where NORFest 2025 took place.

The afternoon resumed with another series of five lightning talks on the theme of ‘Open Research for Innovation’:

The iFrame Project into establishing a national framework for research data management – Armin Straube, Research Data Manager, University of Limerick
APCs in the wild… who gets our money and can we really afford this? – Donna Ó Doibhlin, Scholarly Communications Librarian, UCC
Open Educational Practices in Open Research: Synergies and Impact – Marta Bustillo, Digital Learning Librarian, UCD
Making Visible the Invisible: Open Research to Expose Global Profit Shifting, Inequality, and Corporate Power – Lakshmi Menon, PhD. Researcher, UCD
Building Synergies for Open Research: Development of a national EOSC node for Ireland – Jenny O’Neill, Research Engagement Officer, HEAnet

A collage of three images of Armin Straube, Research Data Manager, University of Limerick, Donna Ó Doibhlin, Scholarly Communications Librarian, UCC and Marta Bustillo, Digital Learning Librarian, UCD delivering lightning talks from the podium in the historic Meeting Room of the Royal Irish Academy during NORFest 2025 Day One.

Pictured (L-R): Armin Straube, Donna Ó Doibhlin and Marta Bustillo

A collage of two images of Jenny O'Neill HEAnet and Lakshmi Menon, UCD standing at the podium in the historic Royal Irish Academy Meeting Room, delivering talks during NORFest 2025.

Pictured (L-R): Jenny O’ Neill and Lakshmi Menon

The lightning talks were followed by a panel discussion also on the theme of ‘Open Research for Innovation’.

Chaired by Clare Dillon from Open Ireland Network, panelists included:

Aedin Culhane, Professor of Cancer Genomics and Director of the Limerick Digital Cancer Research Centre;
Lautaro Matas, Secretary Technical and Executive of LA Referencia;
Joy Owango, Founding Director of TCC Africa and keynote speaker;
Kalpana Shankar, Professor of Research Policy and Practice and PI of ROCHE.

Joy Owango, Kalpana Shankar, Aedin Culhane and Lautaro Matas sitting on red chairs on the stage in the historic Meeting Room of the Royal Irish Academy, participating in a panel discussion during NORFest 2025 Day One. Clare Dillon who is chairing the panel stands at the podium to the right of the stage.

Pictured (L-R): Joy Owango; Kalpana Shankar; Aedin Culhane; Lautaro Matas and Clare Dillon

A collage of two images of Kalpana Shankar, Joy Owango, Lautaro Matas and Clare Dillon engaging in a panel discussion at NORFest 2025. They are sitting on the stage in the Royal Irish Academy's Meeting Room with hand held mics. Clare Dillon is standing at the podium.

Pictured (L-R): Joy Owango and Kalpana Shankar; Lautaro Matas and Clare Dillon

Parallel to this, the ‘Open Research 101 Workshop’ titled ‘Myths, Maps and Missions: Becoming an Open Researcher’ took place, organised and hosted by Dermot Lynott, Coordinator, TROPIC, Maynooth University and Dounia Lakhzoum, Postdoctoral Researcher, Maynooth University.

This workshop introduced open research through interactive activities like a myth-busting quiz and hands-on missions that explored different stages of the research lifecycle. Participants left with practical tools, personalised guidance, and increased confidence in making their own research more transparent and shareable.

Two individuals sitting at a table in the ornate Members' Room of the historic Royal Irish Academy building. They are at a workshop hosted by Dounia Lakhzoum who is standing up looking at her laptop with a large screen behind her. Dermott Lynott is standing next to her, chatting to the participants and smiling.

Dermot Lynott and Dounia Lakhzoum hosted a workshop in the Members’ Room of the Royal Irish Academy during NORFest 2025 Day One.

Closing remarks were delivered by Dr Michelle Doran, National Open Research Coordinator who provided an overview of the day and thanked participants for contributing to the event. A special thanks was given to keynote speaker, Joy Owango who traveled from Kenya to speak at the event.

Day Two

On the final day of NORFest 2025, five interactive, community engagement workshops took place, concurrently:

The Next Phase of Open Research Monitoring in Ireland: Community Priorities and Practice Organisers: Susan Reilly, Director, IReL, Aaron Binchy, Project Manager, National Open Access Monitor, IReL and Ioanna Grypari, Technical Manager, OpenAIRE
New Faces: The Future of Open Research and Public Engagement Organisers: Michael Foley, Coordinator, ENGAGED, Trinity College Dublin; Jo-Hanna Ivers, Principal Investigator, Trinity College Dublin; James Brunton, Principal Project Partner, Dublin City University; Louise Hopper, Project Partner, Dublin City University; Kathyan Kelly, ENGAGED Project Manager, Trinity College Dublin; Autumn Brown, ENGAGED Researcher, Dublin City University; Tracey-Jane Cassidy, ENGAGED Engagement Lead, Trinity College Dublin
ROCHE Project Update: Open Science in Public Private Research Partnerships Organisers: Kalpana Shankar, Principal Investigator, ROCHE, University College Dublin and Gail Sheppard, Co-Principal Investigator, ROCHE, Maynooth University
Co-designing a National PID Strategy Template for EOSC Alignment Organiser: Jenny O’Neill, Research Engagement Officer, HEAnet

The National Open Research Forum would like to thank the organisers, contributors and attendees, as well as the HEA, DRI and RIA for making NORFest 2025 a huge success.