The University of Warsaw and PCG Academia are stepping up their collaboration in research information management. This time, PCG Academia will design and implement a scientific repository for the University of Warsaw, based on the latest version of DSpace 7.

The University of Warsaw and PCG Academia have been cooperating since September 2021, when the University decided to purchase the Sciencecloud system as a tool to support the process of preparing the university for the evaluation of scientific activities for the period 2017-2021. Nowadays, we already know that the University of Warsaw received the highest score among all of the evaluated higher education institutions, and Sciencecloud has become the central tool for managing university’s scholarly information.

The subject of the newly signed contract is the implementation of the University of Warsaw’s Scientific Repository, its integration with systems used by the University, and its adaptation to the specific needs of the University. The Repository will be based on the latest version of DSpace 7, a leading repository engine with an estimated 40% share of the global university market.

As part of the project, PCG Academia will also develop a completely new user interface, in line with the University of Warsaw’s brandbook and the latest trends in the design of this class of systems. The new site will be fully accessible and responsive, allowing for convenient use on both desktop computers and mobile devices.

Moreover, the University of Warsaw’s Scientific Repository will be closely integrated with the Sciencecloud system, which acts as a central hub aggregating data on the scientific output of the University of Warsaw. Thanks to the integration, the scientific output collected in the repository will be ready to be analyzed in Sciencecloud, and from there sent directly to ministerial systems such as the Integrated System of Information on Science and Higher Education (POL-on) and the Polish Scholarly Bibliography (PBN).

The entire project will take no longer than 10 months following the signing of the contract, and the official launch and public release of the University of Warsaw’s Scientific Repository is planned for Autumn 2023.

The University of Warsaw, along with Jagiellonian University, SWPS University and the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, is another Polish university that has decided to implement the latest version of the DSpace 7 repository with the help of PCG Academia services.

The institution responsible for the development and popularization of DSpace is LYRASIS. PCG Academia is the only certified partner of LYRASIS in Poland, giving the company the knowledge and competencies to efficiently carry out even the most complex implementation or migration projects.

DSpace repository is globally used by more than 3,000 scientific institutions, making it the most popular solution of this class in the world. DSpace is used by universities from the top of the world rankings, such as Harvard, Yale and MIT. In Poland, more than 30 universities use various versions of DSpace software, including Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, University of Lodz or University of Silesia.

Scope of PCG Academia services

PCG Academia offers the following services related to the launch and use of DSpace:

  • Installation and configuration of the software in any environment specified by the university (on-premises, private cloud, public cloud), or
  • Upgrading the existing repository instance with the transfer of data, functionalities and integrations done individually for the university;
  • Design and development of the user interface, aligned with the university’s graphic identity and the brand book;
  • Integration of DSpace with other systems found at the university, including ERP, OJS/OMP/OCS, and user authentication systems, e.g. CAS, LDAP, Active Directory, or Azure AD;
  • Design and implementation of new functionalities on individual order according to university’s requirements;
  • Backup and archiving of data stored within the repository, also using distributed cloud technology;
  • Maintenance and development, including the agreed package of hours and response times for requests recorded in the JIRA system.

Contact and additional information

PCG Academia provides a free quote for projects to implement or update a scientific repository based on DSpace 7. You are welcome to contact us at +48 17 777 37 00 or by email: info@pcgacademia.pl