The University of California OSPO Network: Building a Multi-Campus Efforts to Promote Open Source th
338 | Fri 02 Aug 4:30 p.m.–5:15 p.m.
Presented by
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Stephanie Lieggi
https://ospo.ucsc.edu
Stephanie Lieggi is the Executive Director of the Center for Research in Open Source Software (CROSS) at University of California, Santa Cruz. She supports academic-based open source projects and aims to create a sustainable contributor base through the establishment of hands-on mentorship programs, including the Open Source Research Experience (OSRE) Programs. Since 2022 her role has also helped lead the UCSC newly formed Open Source Program Office (OSPO), supported by a grant from the Alfred P Sloan Foundation. Most recently, Stephanie led the effort to build a system-wide network of OSPOs at the University of California, securing financial support for building the network from the Sloan Foundation in Spring 2024. Stephanie co-chairs the CHAOSS University Working Group and is the co-PI on UCSC’s first US National Science Foundation's Pathways to Enable Open Source Ecosystem (POSE) grant, which has enabled exploration into successful models for building sustainable open source projects at universities.
Prior to starting at CROSS, Stephanie was a senior researcher and adjunct professor at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, part of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, where she researched the intersection of national security and global trade.
Stephanie Lieggi
https://ospo.ucsc.edu
Abstract
The growth of Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs) in institutions of higher education has helped advance the development, use and long-term stewardship of open source software and practice. This new movement is also enabling new and unique pathways to further the impact of university research and improving the educational opportunities for the next generation of open source leaders. Since 2020, more than a dozen universities in the US, as well as a number in Europe, have piloted OSPO efforts on their campuses with promising results. One of the first OSPOs in a public university was at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). Building on the experience gained at UCSC, in May 2024, six out of the ten University of California (UC) campuses began working to build the first of its kind systemwide OSPO network. This ambitious effort, funded through the Alfred P Sloan Foundation, allows each campus to develop infrastructure that promotes individual areas of excellence while leveraging the expertise of the entire network.
This presentation will showcase the foundational work of UCSC in building an OSPO over the past three years and will discuss the early work of the other campuses in working together to build the first of its kind, systemwide OSPO. It will also provide an initial blueprint for other educators looking to work collaboratively to promote open source approaches in academia. Participants will learn the benefits of creating a networked set of OSPOs as well as hear about methodologies the UC network plans to employ for creating and maintaining a system-wide open source community of practice.
The growth of Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs) in institutions of higher education has helped advance the development, use and long-term stewardship of open source software and practice. This new movement is also enabling new and unique pathways to further the impact of university research and improving the educational opportunities for the next generation of open source leaders. Since 2020, more than a dozen universities in the US, as well as a number in Europe, have piloted OSPO efforts on their campuses with promising results. One of the first OSPOs in a public university was at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). Building on the experience gained at UCSC, in May 2024, six out of the ten University of California (UC) campuses began working to build the first of its kind systemwide OSPO network. This ambitious effort, funded through the Alfred P Sloan Foundation, allows each campus to develop infrastructure that promotes individual areas of excellence while leveraging the expertise of the entire network. This presentation will showcase the foundational work of UCSC in building an OSPO over the past three years and will discuss the early work of the other campuses in working together to build the first of its kind, systemwide OSPO. It will also provide an initial blueprint for other educators looking to work collaboratively to promote open source approaches in academia. Participants will learn the benefits of creating a networked set of OSPOs as well as hear about methodologies the UC network plans to employ for creating and maintaining a system-wide open source community of practice.