Posts by author Lorenz Weinberg en https://open-access.network/en/blog/authors/author/lorenz-weinberg/blog.author.xml Sat, 18 Jul 2026 16:09:00 +0200 https://open-access.network/en/oablog/between-career-pressure-and-political-demands-how-do-we-create-equitable-publishing-structureshttps://open-access.network/en/oablog/between-career-pressure-and-political-demands-how-do-we-create-equitable-publishing-structures#commentsTue, 23 Jun 2026 10:12:56 +0200ConsultationOpen Access in practiceLorenz Weinberghttps://open-access.network/en/oablog/between-career-pressure-and-political-demands-how-do-we-create-equitable-publishing-structuresOn 5 May 2026, open-access.network, a project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), offered an introductory workshop on open access within the framework of the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s PhD Candidates’ Forum. The workshop met with great interest. With this workshop, the project open-access.network collaborated for the first time with the talent development programme of a political foundation to raise awareness of the topics of open access and open science among early career researchers. At the annual PhD Candidates’ Forum, the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s PhD scholars present their research projects and discuss science policy topics. The motto of this year’s three-day event at the Foundation’s Berlin office was “Scientists between Neutrality and Activism – May or Must Science be Political? Entitled “Between Career Pressure and Political Aspirations: How do We Create Equitable Publishing Structures?”, the workshop was devoted to the structural and socio-political aspects of open access, scholarly publishing, and research evaluation practices, and reflected the field of tension in which many PhD candidates find themselves. In the run-up to the event, it became apparent that the approach of placing the socio-political dimension of open access centre stage had struck a chord: Well over half of the Forum participants chose the open-access.network offering over other concurrent sessions. As the workshop facilitator, I was delighted about the great interest shown. Researchers are generally one of the target groups that the open access community often finds it more difficult to reach. The PhD candidates’ great interest and active participation could be interpreted as encouragement to also incorporate the political clout of open access and debates about reputation and the scholarly publishing system more often and to a greater degree into the introductory workshops on open access.