University of Konstanz: Pioneer of the Open Access Revolution!

University of Konstanz: Pioneer of the Open Access Revolution!

The University of Konstanz has established itself as a pioneer in the field of open access over the last few decades. This became particularly clear during the first Open Access Days in Germany in 2007, which brought together around 70 participants from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. At this event, which was opened by Brigitte Rockstroh, the then vice-rector, the focus was on the topic “Open Access – authors retain rights to their publications”. As early as 1999, the university began building the Konstanz Online Publication System (KOPS), which enables researchers to make their work freely accessible and thus laid the foundation for the Open Access movement in Germany [campus.uni-konstanz.de] reports that...

From 2006 to 2009, a funding project for secondary publications was carried out on KOPS before it went into regular operation. The website open-access.net was launched in May 2007, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). This platform is a cooperation project in which, in addition to the University of Konstanz, the universities of Göttingen, Bielefeld and FU Berlin are involved. The long history of commitment to open access positions the University of Konstanz as one of the first German universities to sign the Berlin Declaration and publish an open access policy in 2012 [openaire.eu] reports that...

Growth and influence

Today the number of participants in the Open Access Days has increased to around 400, with the next event taking place in Konstanz from September 17th to 19th, 2025. The opening keynote will be given by Gabriele Spilker and has the theme “Global Inequality in Research”. This annual event has established itself as a central event in the open access community and promotes exchange through lectures and collaborative formats. All materials from the conference will then be made freely accessible [campus.uni-konstanz.de] reports that...

The University of Konstanz ranks first in the CWTS Leiden Ranking for Open Access publications in Germany and is one of the ten best-placed universities in the world. An impressive 82% of the university's research is now freely accessible. With the future “PubliKon” project, the university will expand its publishing services to provide even more comprehensive support to authors, including the publication of monographs. As part of Diamond Open Access, this takes place without fees for authors and readers [openaire.eu] reports that...

The path to Open Science

The university is aware of the importance of an open research landscape and adopted a comprehensive open science policy in 2021. This pursues the goal of optimal dissemination and visibility of research results. The Open Science team at KIM offers advice and training on open access and research data management. Research data and publications should be made transparent and accessible in the spirit of Open Science. The university promotes the use of its KOPS and KonDATA repositories, which were founded in 1999 and 2021 respectively [unibas.ch] reports that...

In addition, it is emphasized that Open Science also has an international dimension. It not only promotes the exchange of scientists, but also the social use of research results. The commitment of the University of Basel in similar areas, such as the open access policy and the implementation of targeted research data management strategies, shows that a broad movement is underway in the German and international higher education system. These measures are part of a growing commitment to transparency and improving the quality of research [unibas.ch] reports that...