Senior Specialist for Research Database at the library elected to the board of an international organisation

Merilen Ivask-Oprelianska, senior specialist for research database at the University of Tartu Library, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the international non-profit organisation DataCite.

“This is a great recognition that a representative from such a small country has the opportunity to help shape the strategic development of DataCite,” said Liisi Lembinen, Development Director of the University of Tartu Library. “Merilen has proven herself at the library as a strong specialist, and her practical experience will certainly be valuable in planning the activities of one of the key organisations in the research world.” The Board’s responsibilities include representing the interests of members, addressing issues related to funding, membership and partnerships, and developing a shared infrastructure for open science.

In addition to Ivask-Oprelianska, the DataCite Board consists of 13 other members from different regions around the world.

DataCite is an international non-profit organisation that helps make research data and other research outputs more discoverable, citable and reusable. DataCite collaborates with universities, libraries, research institutions and repositories worldwide, develops infrastructure for open science, supports the FAIR data principles, and manages the DOI registration system for research data. In Estonia, the University of Tartu is a member of DataCite and has established the DataCite Estonia consortium together with Tallinn University, Tallinn University of Technology and the Estonian University of Life Sciences.