The Cyprus University of Technology introduces this Policy, namely “Open Access to Research Infrastructure” in order to allow broader research community to use its infrastructure. Research Infrastructures are at the core of the knowledge triangle of research, education and innovation and therefore play a vital role in the advancement of knowledge and technology and their exploitation.1 It is well established that open access can lead not only to innovative scientific results but also to more collaborative researches.
This Policy aims to facilitate the procedure of accessing University’s Research Infrastructure and to regulate the relations between the University and the User. Therefore, the present detailed Policy defines a set of standards, procedures and good practices. The application scope of this Policy extends to the University’s Research Infrastructure which have been acquired and/or developed either via funding provided through the State’s budget or via externally funded research programs.
Contents
OPEN ACCESS TO RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE POLICY CYPRUS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Definitions
Application: means a request submitted by a potential User for accessing University’s Research Infrastructure.
Open Access: means a legitimate and authorised admission to interactions and use of Research Infrastructure provided by the University to Users. Access can be physical, remote or virtual. Access to Research Infrastructure may be provided free of charge or may require payment depending on the type of Research Infrastructure which will be used.
Research Infrastructure: means facilities, resources and related services that are used by the scientific community to conduct research in their respective fields and covers major scientific equipment or sets of instruments; knowledge-based resources such as collections, archives or structures for scientific information; Technology-based infrastructures such as computing and software; any other entity of a unique nature essential to achieve excellence in research.
University: Cyprus University of Technology.
User: means natural or legal person who wish to use University’s Research Infrastructure and access has been granted to them. A User can be either external, namely a person that is not in any way associated with the University (i.e. NGO, companies or researches that are not associated with the University) or internal, namely a person that is associated with the University (i.e. student, employee, teaching and research staff, administrative and technical staff).
1 European Charter for Access to Research Infrastructures Principles and Guidelines for Access and Related Services, 2016, European Commission.
2 Principals and Guidelines for creating a Policy for Open Access to Research Infrastructures, 2020, Regional Cooperation Council.
Access to Research Infrastructure
Inventory
An up-to-date inventory indicating the accessible Research Infrastructure can be found on the University’s website.
Application
In order to access and use the Research Infrastructure, a potential User shall submit an Application to the University. The Application shall include, inter alia, the following information:
• Specific type of Research Infrastructure;
• Scope of work;
• Duration of use; and
• Potential Intellectual Property.
Assessment of the Application
Once the Application is received by the University, the potential User will be contacted by the University if further information is needed. The Application will be assessed by the University and the potential User will be notified for the outcome of the assessment.
Agreement
If a decision to grant access is made, the potential User will be provided with an agreement which will include all necessary information (i.e. cost, opening hours, training, relevant instructions, intellectual property matters, health and safety matters, data protection matters). If the potential User agrees with the terms of the agreement, the agreement shall be signed by both University and User.
Use of Research Infrastructure
The User shall use the Research Infrastructure in accordance with the terms of the Agreement.
Particularly,
a. the Research Infrastructure:
i. shall be used in accordance with the relevant instructions,
ii. shall not be used in a way which might be damaged or destroyed,
b. the User:
i. shall not make any changes to the Research Infrastructure configuration that have not been previously approved by the University;
ii. in the event where has used the Research Infrastructure negligently, acted in bad faith or damaged the Research Infrastructure on purpose shall repair the damaged Research Infrastructure and/or compensate the University for any losses. It shall be noted that where a training is needed, a competent individual (i.e. laboratory assistant, engineer, technician) will train the User in order for the latter to be able to use the Research Infrastructure and to work with specific unique laboratory equipment. The University is responsible for the Research Infrastructure maintenance.
Cost
Access to Research Infrastructure may be provided free of charge or may require payment. The cost if any, for accessing and using University’s Research Infrastructure is calculated individually in each case, taking into consideration direct and indirect cost i.e. the duration of the use, costs of equipment maintenance, consumables and other materials required for each type of Research Infrastructure, human resources, training, administration and other costs related to the Research Infrastructure activities.
As mentioned above, when an Application is received and decision to grant access is made, the University prepares an agreement indicating, inter alia, the cost for accessing and using University’s Research Infrastructure.
Confidentiality
The University is obliged to ensure the confidentiality of the results of scientific research and/or experiment performed using the Research Infrastructure unless otherwise agreed in writing. At the same time, a User is also obliged to ensure the confidentiality of any information relating to the access and use of Research Infrastructure which is declared as confidential information by the University.
Intellectual Property
Αll intellectual property produced by an external User shall be the intellectual property of the external User unless otherwise agreed in writing. Regarding intellectual property produced by an internal User, the University’s internal policies and/or regulations apply and regulate the ownership of that intellectual property.
Acknowledgement
Users should acknowledge the contribution of the Research Infrastructure in any output (i.e. publication, patent, data, etc.) deriving from research conducted within the University. In accordance with good scientific practice, Users are encouraged to offer co-authorship to those working at the Research Infrastructure having made genuine scientific contributions to their work, if applicable.
Final provision
Τhe University and a User shall endeavor to settle amicably and in good faith any dispute arising in connection with the access to Research Infrastructure.
Ethics
The CRaFTC project operates under the permission of the Cyprus National Bioethics Committee with ref: ΕΕΒΚ/ΕΠ/2023/63