The OPUS project implemented by the Research Council of Lithuania (LMT) and its open science ambassadors programme have attracted international attention: the programme was nominated for the prestigious "OE Global Award of Excellence". It is a significant sign that Lithuania is actively and successfully implementing open science principles, including citizen science.
The three-year OPUS project was carried out by 18 institutions from across Europe, of which only two are research funding organisations, and one of them is LMT. During the project, LMT implemented the Open Science Ambassadors training programme, in which 23 leaders of research projects from 6 Lithuanian research and higher education institutions took part.
In 2025 the "Open Education Global Awards for Excellence" received 196 nominations from 42 countries. Among them, Lithuania stood out as a country in which the national research funding institution took the lead in shaping an open science culture.
An intensive training programme was implemented over 9 months: 23 research leaders completed open science training and later trained 211 researchers at various Lithuanian higher education institutions and institutes. The training content also covered citizen science principles and their application in practice.
From January 2026 a new LMT Open Science Ambassadors Network initiative is starting, which will continue the community created during OPUS and promote systemic change in Lithuanian institutions.
Read more on the LMT website about the OPUS nomination and the final review of the project.