OpenCon
  • Resources
    • Resources
    • Community Report
    • Reflections
    • OpenCon 2018 Highlights
    • OpenCon 2017 Highlights
    • OpenCon 2016 Highlights
    • OpenCon 2015 Highlights
    • Community Call Guide
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Report
  • Blog
  1. Home
  2. Satellites
  3. Satellite Hosts - 2016

Satellite Hosts - 2016

Satellite Event Links: Satellite Home | Designing an Agenda | Support & Resources | FAQ | Meet the Hosts | Submit an Event Plan

Satellite events are organized by incredible students, librarians, researchers, and advocates who volunteer their time to put these meetings together.  Our community would not be possible without these amazing people!  Get to know some OpenCon 2016 satellite hosts here, and if you're interested in hosting yourself, let us know through the form on this page! 

You can meet the growing list of 2017 hosts here.  

Asia

Satellite_Host_Bios_Sailesh.png

Sailesh Patnaik - OpenCon 2016 Chandigarh

I’m a student from KIIT university (Mechanical Engineering) Bhubaneswar. I am a long term contributor to Wikipedia/Wikimedia movement and contributing to it from 2012 (When I was in Grade 10). During my journey in the Wikipedia movement I got to know about the Open source, Open Access, Open data and Open Knowledge movement and I started volunteering for it. Lack of awareness about the movement in my province encouraged me to participate in the Open movement. After attending OpenCon Kolkata, I started participating in this movement at a large level. Now, I am an ambassador to Open Access India and helping to spread awareness about the movement and forming Open Access India as a registered society.

Satellite_Host_Bios_Maryam.png

Maryam Qonita - OpenCon 2016 Jakarta

Currently, I’m a Psychology student completing my bachelor degree at State University of Jakarta. I am someone who is consistently growing and takes the time to continue learning about life. I developed a passion for promoting open access because some of my friends are physically-disadvantaged students and they don’t have an easy access to scholarly research at their university. I believe that open access, open data, and open education are the only solutions for university libraries - and problems that affects all of us in academia. By supporting this, we are more likely to have more comprehensive and easier access to scholarly research and helping others in disability.

Satellite_Host_Bios_Sridhar.png

Sridhar Gutam - OpenCon 2016 Ranchi

I am an agricultural research service scientist working as a plant physiologist and also convenor of the Open Access India community based at Ranchi. I was introduced to the concept of Open Access at the first national convention on free software in march 2007 at Hyderabad and since then I got involved in its advocacy first among my colleagues in the agricultural research service and then with all other researchers through the Open Access India network. I am convinced and strongly believe that only with free access to data, information and knowledge only we progress and build the future open world. 

 
Satellite_Host_Bios_Ehsaan.png

Ehsaan Ahmed- OpenCon 2016 Lahore

I am an undergraduate medical student from Pakistan and the host of OpenCon 2016 Lahore. Since high school I had been interested in research as a need to quench my curiosities. I was interested in OpenCon, because it supports research by promoting Open Access, Open Data and Open Education. 

   

 

Africa

Satellite_Pic_Kayode.png

Kayode Yussuf - OpenCon 2016 Yaba

I am very passionate about knowledge sharing, and I currently serve as Technology Lead for Creative Commons Nigeria, an affiliate team of Creative Commons Global. Creative Commons creates licenses that allow content owners to freely share their creative works so as to improve knowledge sharing.In my role, I host trainings, meetups and workshops on open access. I also leads a couple of open access projects in Nigeria such as ; School of Open' and 'Adopt A School Projects'.

Satellite_Host_Bios_Lillian.png

Lillian Juma - OpenCon 2016 Nairobi

I’m spatial planner specializing in urban and rural planning and Open Access advocate. The diverse nature of my work requires data to be freely available and accessible. Through collaborations with individuals and institutions championing Open in Kenya, I have hosted two OpenCon satellite events in Nairobi. The 2015 event was held at IHub Nairobi, where students, policy makers and junior researchers came together to discuss the need for incorporating Open Access during the early stages of implementing Sustainable Development Goals. The 2016 event took place at the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development and focused on the concept of ‘Training the Trainer’ - building capacity for OA trainers in the community to reach out to other students, researchers and policy makers with interest in research and open access in our learning institutions as well as research institutes.

Satellite_Host_Bios_Hamissou.png

Hamissou Rhissa Achaffert - OpenCon 2016 Niamey

I am student at Abdou Moumouni University in Sociology and Anthropology Department of Niamey (Niger) where I am completing my Master's degree. I am also a member of SOHA (Open Science in Haiti and Africa French speaking countries) - a project leading some training activities on open science. I am currently working on a project on creating a science shop at my university. I am interested in open science and the social responsibilities of researchers.

Satellite_Host_Bios_Prudence.png

Nkolo Niclaire Prudence - OpenCon 2016 Yaoundé

I am a member of Projet SOHA and the EIFL-Open Access Programme Country Coordinator in Cameroon.  I am the Coordinator of Open Access projects in Cameroon. I was selected as Young Leader of Cameroon by the French NGO “Libraries without borders” in partnership with “Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation” for my work and projects to advance Open issues in my country. Each year, i organized conference and workshop during Open Access Week in Cameroon to encourage researchers to publish their work in an Open Access publication.

Satellite_Host_Bios_James_Kwabo.png

James Kwabo - OpenCon 2016 Lofa

I am a Community Youth Development Worker and professional journalist with over a decade years of practical experience in community engagement, youth empowerment initiatives, social justice and advocacy. I earned a Bachelor of Arts (Magna Cum Laude) in Mass Communication with specialization in Broadcasting, from the United Methodist University. For most of my life, I have paid keen attention to communication and seen the field as a conduit to develop my community and empower the marginalized around me. Currently, I am leading an initiative to generate funding to support senior secondary students (mainly girls) in rural Liberia to pay their fees for the 2016/2017 West African Examination Council. I am the Convener and Organizer of OpenCon 2016 Lofa, organized with assistance from a team of other young people including, Nimeley M. Pawoo, William Dorbor, T. Nyanti Toe, Dominic J. Sumo, Ms. Krubo D. Sumoiwuo, Ms. Garmai Mulbah, Samuel Woyea, and David Mulbah.

Satellite_Host_Bios_Babalola.png

Babalola Ibisola - OpenCon 2016 UCH Ibadan

I am a senior registrar in the Department of Family Medicine, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria, and the Vice President of the Association of Resident Doctors in the same institution. As a coordinator of the research group Acta Scriptor, I came to realize how difficult it is to getting research materials. Even the work we helped our senior colleagues produce become inaccessible as soon as they were sent to publishers. I welcome wholeheartedly Open ideas and I hope to follow it through until the necessary stakeholders see the need to make educational and research materials available to students, young researchers and other professionals without any forms of restriction.

 
Satellite_Host_Bios_Yusuf.png

Sulayman Yusuf - OpenCon 2016 Ilorin

Yusuf is a lawyer in Nigeria and is currently a Partner with the law-firm of Adingwu, Maude & Sulayman LP. Previously, a volunteer Legal Consultant for One Community Inc., (USA). While working with Consultant for One Community Inc.; a fully open source organization, Yusuf developed a huge passion for Open data. So when OpenCon came along, aiming to create an atmosphere where research is made easy through advocacy for openness in access to data for research, it was very easy to key in. Asma’u Suleiman and Safiya Abdullahi helped in organizing OpenCon 2016, Ilorin and it was a wonderful experience.

 
Satellite_Host_Bios_Bisaso.png

Bisaso Samuel - OpenCon 2016 Uganda

I am a Masters student at Mbarara University of Science and Technology majoring in Health information Technology. I am the founder of the OOO Uganda Research Network, with an aim to support local students, researchers, and librarians to advance open access, open education, and open data in their institutions. I first learned about Open Access when he participated in an online course with Athabasca University in Canada and UNESCO “2015 UNESCO Media and information literacy Course”. I believe that Open Access allows us to use new technologies of the internet which gets everyone access to data from publicly funded research and not keeping this knowledge behind expensive paywalls.

 
Satellite_Host_Bios_Erika.png

Erika Mias - OpenCon 2016 Cape Town

I am a digital curation officer at the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Digital Library Services (DLS) department. After graduating from my BSc degree in 2003 I was dismayed at the fact that with immediate effect I could no longer access current publications and research without paying massive subscription fees directly to journals at great personal cost or paying a substantial annual academic library fee. This remained the case until I rejoined the university environment in 2015. My colleagues in the library presented on their Open Con 2015 experience and I was immediately interested in participating in this movement. Along with colleagues at the University of Pretoria and North West University, we organised the first collaborative "Open Data” in day in 2016 across three institutions with many attendees participating virtually as well. This collaboration was an encouraging success and I look forward to many more “Open” events in the future.

 
Satellite_Host_Bios_Bolutife.png

Bolutife Adisa - OpenCon 2016 Lagos

Adisa Bolutife is a undergraduate student of Electrical/Electronics Engineering in University of Lagos, Nigeria. He has been an ‘freedom of information’ advocate until 2015 when he learnt about open access through OpenCon. He has since been an open access advocate, spreading awareness and leading grassroots organizing on various discussions on the Open culture in Nigeria. He believes open accessing education and research is the way forward, just as the world tends towards an internet-driven society. He collaborated with the University of Lagos engineering society to host OpenCon2016 Lagos at Julius Berger Hall, Lagos. The event brought together a population of 220 students, researchers and early career professionals.

 

South America

Satellite_Host_Bios_Andreiwid.png

Andreiwid Corrêa- OpenCon 2016 Campinas

I’m an early career professor at Federal Institute of Sao Paulo. My interest in Open issues came 4 years ago when I started my Ph.D. in Open Data. Since then, the interaction with Open community brought a lot of opportunities to advance other Open areas such as Open Education. OpenCon was one of these opportunities! As a professor I encourage my students to think about Open causes and how they can change our lives through the power of collaboration. As a result, I have seen good projects showing up that make the community stronger.

Satellite_Host_Bios_Ricardo.png

Ricardo Hartley- OpenCon 2016 Santiago

I believe that education and information are two basic elements to consider in the development of society. Therefore, the adequate access to them, free and with opportunities of improving, are a must especially in Science. I have been working in University accreditation in parallel with my Biological Sciences studies, and i believe that we need to change how we rate the productivity in science, draw attention to the importance of using preprints, and work to remove paywalls in order to advance into a more fair society

   

North America

Satellite_Host_Bios_Anna.png

Anna Newman - OpenCon 2016 Boston

I’m the Open Access Specialist at the Boston University Libraries in Boston, MA, USA. I first became interested in Open issues in library school, and I strongly believe that libraries have a vital role to play in the democratization of access to knowledge.

Satellite_Host_Bios_Haley_Lorraine.png

Haley Kragness & Lorraine Chuen - OpenCon 2016 Toronto

We are the co-chairs of the OOO Canada Research Network, OpenCon alumni, and have worked together on events focusing on systemic issues in academia. Haley is a PhD candidate at McMaster University in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour. Haley is interested in open because she believes is it unethical for scientific research to be accessible only to those in the ivory tower, and secondly, because open scientific practices improve scientific quality, particularly in her area of research. Lorraine currently works on communications for the Right to Research Coalition and helps coordinate satellite events for OpenCon. She is interested in ways we can shift the focus of Open movements to be more inclusive and meaningfully diverse.

 

 

Europe

Satellite_Pic_Konsta.png

Konsta Happonen - OpenCon 2016 Oulu

The earliest memory related to Open Science I have is from secondary school. I remember being very surprised and angry that researchers' voluntary work was being used for private gain, at the expense of access to literature. From those days a lot has happened, and I've fallen in love with the Open Science movement. For me, openness is both an ethical issue and a promise of a more collaborative research environment as opposed to the closed, competition-driven way. An ecologist by training, I'm beginning my PhD project at the University of Helsinki.

Satellite_Pic_Rachael.png

Rachael Lammey - OpenCon 2016 Oxford

I work in Member & Community Outreach at Crossref - we work with lots of OA publishers and make metadata openly available (via our API and Open Funder Registry) for people to build on and use. I co-hosted the event with Josh Brown, Regional Director for Europe for ORCID whose core principals are around openness and community so it seemed a good fit! Oh, and we both love identifiers...

 

 
Satellite_Pic_Stefan.png

Stefan Kasberger - Offene Wahlen Hackathon

I am the Chairman of Open Knowledge Austria, Training Manager @ Content Mine, and Founder openscienceASAP. For me open is important because it enables people to participate in all kinds of ways. People can build businesses with it, educate themselves, look inside their government activities and access scientific knowledge as easy as possible - everyone, not just the privileged.

 

 
Satellite_Host_Bios_Kirstie.png

Kirstie Whitaker - OpenCon 2016 Cambridge

I am a researcher in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge and a 2016/17 Mozilla Fellow for Science. I study adolescent brain development and how it relates to mental health disorders. I make sure my work is reproducible and that all data and code is made openly available to support my publications. I'm passionate about supporting women and other under-represented groups in science and am the lead developer of the STEMM Role Models project. I attended OpenCon in 2016 and lead the team that coordinated a wonderful second annual OpenCon satellite event in Cambridge in November 2016.

 

Satellite_Host_Bios_Aidis.png

Aidis Stukas - OpenCon 2016 Lithuania

I see open data as something that can bring major boost to global economy. So many things are already analysed, so many things are researched, all we need to to is to exchange data effectively. Open data community has a goal to help others to communicate well and I am willing to contribute.

 

Satellite_Host_Bios_Damien.png

Damien Jacques - PechaKucha Night Liege

I am currently doing a PhD at the Catholic University of Louvain. I am a member of Focus Research, the Belgian research policy group. I also used to promote Open Access in the dedicated working group of EURODOC. I am proud to have taken part in the writing of “The academic, economic and societal impacts of Open Access: an evidence-based review” with a friendly bunch of people from last OpenCon. The experience was such a success that a new project on peer review is on-going here (everyone is welcome). The flowering of Open Science needs scientific community to increase their requirements to: “Work. Finish. Publish and... Release.”

 

Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Twitter Sign in with Email


Host a Satellite Event Get updates Take part in the community
Tweets by @open_con

About

About Us

Media Resources

Privacy Policy

Code of Conduct

Organizing Committee

Follow us

Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under Creative Commons Licence Created with NationBuilder..