Join us in congratulating Aleksandra Lazić – our coordinator at the Open Science Community Serbia – who received the very first edition of the ‘Sarah Jones Award for Exceptional Contribution to fostering collaboration in Open Science‘! The Award, issued by Research Data Alliance (RDA), aims to honor the memory of Sarah Jones and her invaluable contributions to the global Open Science community.

Aleksandra was announced as the winner during the Closing Session of the 23rd RDA Plenary in Costa Rica on November 14, 2024. The Award recognizes the positive impact of Aleksandra’s work on REPOPSI – the repository for open psychological instruments in Serbian. She co-founded REPOPSI at the LIRA Lab and led the EOSC Future and RDA funded project to improve the Repository. 

The Selection Panel also emphasized Aleksandra’s passion in promoting open science practices, her understanding of the complexities of building repositories, her commitment to the RDA community, and her strong belief in the value of international collaboration. During her acceptance speech, Aleksandra said that the Award will help her increase the visibility of the communities she is a part of, including the Open Science Community Serbia and ABRIR.