Celebrating one year of Open Science Beers
“It all started with a pang of jealousy,” says Asura Enkhbayar when asked what inspired him to start Open Science Beers YVR. Stefanie Haustein had pointed out that Montreal hosted a regular open science meetup every Wednesday. But Vancouver, Asura realized, had nothing of the sort.
“I had always found it quite amazing that Vancouver was the home of so many amazing folks involved in Open Science, Open Access, Open Data without offering the opportunity to bring all of them together on a regular basis,” he says. “I guess that is why we started Open Science Beers YVR, and why we’re now in our second season.”
Throughout 2019, the monthly events brought together scholars, students, industry professionals, advocates, and others interested in all forms of open scholarship. Conversations meandered from serious to lighthearted, covering everything from open data protocols to bowling.
“I think that it’s really giving faces to open science,” says Asura. “We talk open science, OA, Elsevier, and corporate greed all the time anyways. But it’s super nice that all the people involved sometimes just might want to get together and chat about life and a have a drink.”
As we gear up for our second season, we’re sharing some reflections (and, of course, some corny selfies!) from the year gone by.
Here’s what past attendees have to say about Open Science Beers:
“I like attending OSB because I like hanging out with conscientious and quirky people who are anti-establishment and mutually interested in the destruction of paywalls,” says Michelle La, a master’s candidate in Anthropology at Simon Fraser University.
Carina Albrecht, also a master’s student at SFU, agrees. “Open Science Beers is a great way to have fun conversations with the most interesting people and connect to students or scholars from around the area and many places of the world,” she says. “Almost every time I go to one event I have the opportunity to meet someone new.”
“In the spirit of the open movement, open science beers provides an inclusive, accessible opportunity to discuss ideas across scientific disciplines in a way that academia always strives to but never quite achieves,” adds Erfan Rezaie, a physics instructor at Langara College and Capilano University.
Thanks for an amazing year of Open Science Beers. We’re looking forward to seeing you again in 2020!
Join us at the next Open Science Beers YVR at the Alibi Room on Thursday, January 30 at 6 pm. Or, sign up for our mailing list for a monthly invitation.