The EOSC Federation is entering a new phase of development with the inclusion of 14 new candidate nodes in the second wave of expansion. Among them is the national candidate EOSC Node, opening new opportunities for stronger participation of the country in the European ecosystem for open science, research data, and digital services.

In this process, the Open Science Centre at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje (OSC) plays an important role in organisational implementation, capacity building, and the development of competences needed for active participation of the research community in EOSC. The Centre’s activities focus on supporting researchers and institutions in applying open science principles, managing research data, and using European infrastructures and services.

A particularly important part of the candidacy is the model for connecting open science competence centres with EOSC Nodes. In this context, the Open Science Centre has a leading role in implementing this specific integration case, which is being carried out through strategic cooperation with the Polish EOSC Node starting from May 2026. This model aims to bring open science knowledge, support, and services closer to researchers and to better connect them with European EOSC processes.

Supported by the technical resources and expertise of the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering at UKIM, the Open Science Centre will continue to work on developing skills, guidelines, and practices for research data management and the application of open science principles. In this way, the Centre contributes to the professional, organisational, and technical readiness of the research community for equal participation in EOSC.For more information, please visit:
https://eosc.eu/news/eosc-federation-scales-up-with-endorsement-of-14-new-candidate-nodes