EU funded project on "Strengthening Research, Development and Innovation in Higher Education in Azerbaijan" looks into the scientific publication system and open access/open science practices in Azerbaijan. Dr Daniel Spichtinger the external expert on this subject, was in the country from 10th to 14th of June to conduct interviews with university stakeholders (librarians, vice-rectors) on this subject.  In order to complement these visits, meetings with other stakeholders including Ministry of Education and ThompsonReuters/Clarivate were organized. The expert`s goal is to assess the present open access practices in Azerbaijani Universities and develop a model for the future, with a more effective implementation of an open science concept and practical workshops for stakeholders.

Daniel Spichtinger worked from 2012 to 2018 for the European Commission on EU Research Policy and Open Access and is currently employed by the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft in Austria, meanwhile acting like an independent expert on open access.