From September 22–24, 2025, the University of Coimbra (via the EXCELScIOR ERA Chair) was proud to co-organize Responsible Research in Action (RRiA) Unconference 2025, held at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin.
Tracey Weissgerber played a central role in the event’s organization serving as Chair of the Local Organizing Committee, as well as in moderating and advancing the program’s dialogue. At the opening keynote session on September 22, Maryann Martone (Professor Emerita, UC San Diego) delivered a lecture entitled “Are we FAIR yet? Changing the culture on data management and sharing.” Tracey Weissgerber conducted an informal interview with Maryann, engaging the audience in questions about FAIR principles, data sharing challenges, and lessons from transitioning toward open science practices.
Other EXCELScIOR team members also attended, providing support for the event and actively contributing to project teams
The RRiA Unconference format encouraged participants to join one of ten thematic projects (selected through a competitive process) and work in interdisciplinary teams over the three days to co-create tangible outputs—toolkits, white papers, recommendations, frameworks—to foster responsible research culture. Pre-conference workshops (e.g. on change management, design thinking, behavior change) were also offered to equip participants with collaborative skills and methods. By co-organizing and actively engaging in RRiA Berlin, the University of Coimbra (through EXCELScIOR) reinforced its commitment to shaping research culture, building capacity in open and responsible research practices, and strengthening connections with the global community of changemakers in metaresearch and open science.
📍 Event: Responsible Research in Action (RRiA) Unconference
📅 Dates: September 22–24, 2025
📍 Venue: Charité – Campus Virchow Klinikum, Berlin 🔗 More information: RRiA 2025 Website
