We now produce as much data every day as we used to in years, or even centuries: not only scientific data but also data about our surroundings in our daily lives. Thanks to technology, especially mobile devices like smartphones, we've all become potential data providers collecting information on what we see, what we're doing, where we go – whether we choose to or not.  This marks a huge change, which offers great potential for scientific progress as well as individual and commercial good, but also risks encroaching on our individual privacy and rights.  

How can we handle and benefit from this explosion of data and its availability, as well as the increasingly open access to research and public data? We believe it can give greater opportunities for innovation, more democratization in science, and benefits for the citizen, organisations, cities and businesses, but we need to find the best ways to do this while protecting the individual's rights. This is not easy, but the potential benefits, and indeed the reality of the data deluge, means we have to try. If we succeed, the greater involvement of the public and individuals in the scientific process and decision making can bring benefits to all, and even change how we do science itself.

During the ICT2015 conference, a set of expert speakers will address these issues from the academic, research, as well as public and private sector perspectives, looking at the current situation and how open access, open science and open research data can be converted into Innovation. We will consider how OpenAIRE has fostered this process, and how e-infrastructures can help fulfil its potential. And we'll consider the citizen's role and the potential benefits at individual as well as societal level, as well as the risks - and how they can be addressed.

A dedicated blog post on the Open Science and Open data session is available.

More information on Open Science.