Open Research Conference 2025 – resources available
19 Aug 2025
More than 120 delegates from across the country and abroad attended, bringing together a breadth of expertise – and resources available on Figshare.
Our University welcomed more than 120 delegates to the Alliance Manchester Business School for its second annual Open Research Conference: a two-day event showcasing the latest developments in Open Research and its role in advancing research. The conference brought together a wide range of voices from universities across the UK, publishers and other organisations focused on Open Research.
The conference featured keynote talks from internationally recognised leaders in research reform, Stephen Curry and Giovanna Lima, alongside five plenary sessions, four interactive Research Culture Labs, lightning talks and poster presentations. Marking a significant expansion from last year, the programme covered a wide range of Open Research topics: from publishing innovations and community building, to managing sensitive data and addressing ethical considerations.
Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, with many highlighting the “breadth and depth of the conference themes,” which reflected the diverse and evolving landscape of Open Research. One participant described it as “a great opportunity to connect with peers and like-minded colleagues,” while another noted that “the conference helped me understand what researchers experience once they receive their awards and want to publish their research.” Attendees consistently described the experience as “thought-provoking,” “insightful,” and “fantastic.”
Conference materials
The Conference Abstract Book, slides and posters are openly available on Figshare. Presentation recordings will be made publicly available in the coming weeks.
Open Research Award 2025
A highlight of this year’s conference was the presentation of the Open Research Award 2025, recognising outstanding contributions to the University’s Open Research culture in the past year. The award was presented by Vice-President for Social Responsibility, Professor Nalin Thakkar to the Environmental Data Engineering and Science Laboratory (ENVDES) for their exemplary application of open research practices in environmental data scholarship.
The conference was organised by the University’s Office for Open Research in collaboration with support from the UK Reproducibility Network, the School of Engineering Open Research Lead and the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute.