Research accessibility is vital for fostering greater public engagement and trust in scientific discovery. Open access in research removes barriers such as paywalls, making academic knowledge freely available to everyone, regardless of their background. This approach fosters collaboration, speeds up discoveries, and ensures that valuable research reaches and benefits a wider audience.

In a bid to improve the public perception of and trust in scientific discovery, James Cook University in Singapore has taken an important step towards making research more accessible with its Retroactive Green Open Access initiative, “Bring Out Your Dead!”. This competition, organised by the Scholarly Communications team from JCU Library, invites researchers to convert their older, subscription-locked articles into publications that can be freely accessed worldwide.

The 2024 competition brought together participants from James Cook University’s Australian and Singapore campuses. Top honours for the Singapore campus went to Dr Kim-Lim Tan, Senior Lecturer at James Cook University in Singapore. Dr Tan demonstrated outstanding commitment to Open Access as the top contributor with 15 articles.

Reflecting on the competition, Kim Lim shared insights into the value of Open Access and how this effort contributes to the public good. “Open Access ensures that knowledge is not confined to a selected few but is made available for more people to read about and possibly come up with new ideas that can make a difference.”

“This competition demonstrates the University’s commitment to fostering a knowledge-sharing culture, and I am glad to be part of this initiative,” he adds.

Associate Professor Denise Dillon, Associate Dean Research Education, highlighted the impact of initiatives like this: “Green Open Access increases the visibility of research, which can lead to more citations and greater impact. Making research freely available to the public strengthens trust in science and encourages broader engagement with research findings.”

Read more about the JCU Library competition here.

Discover further information on areas of research, and research strength at James Cook University in Singapore.

Find out more about the Singapore campus of James Cook University.

Check out Dr Kim-Lim Tan’s staff and research profiles.

Contacts

Research: Associate Professor Denise Dillon [email protected]

Library: Jayshree Mamtora [email protected]

Media: Ms Pinky Sibal [email protected] / Ms Hoe Shu Rin [email protected]