Advanced Diploma in Open Science and Knowledge Sovereignty
1th Cohort | Virtual Modality
ACADEMIC COORDINATION
Fernando Ariel López (October Workers Foundation / Metropolitan University for Education and Work, Argentina) | Arianna Becerril García (Autonomous University of the State of Mexico)
PROFESSORS
Fernando Ariel López (October Workers Foundation / Metropolitan University for Education and Work, Argentina) | Arianna Becerril García (Autonomous University of the State of Mexico) | Fernanda Beigel (CONICET – National University of Cuyo, Argentina) | Laura Rovelli (Institute of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences, CONICET, National University of La Plata, Argentina) | Judith Naidorf (Institute of Educational Research, Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina) | Gabriel Vélez Cuarta (University of Antioquia, Colombia) | Sarita Albagli (Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology, Brazil)
Virtual format | August to November 2026
Home: 19/08/2026 | Registration: 15/05/2026 to 18/08/2026
The Postgraduate Diploma in Open Science and Knowledge Sovereignty offers critical and strategic training aimed at strengthening the capacity of Latin American universities to produce, manage, and disseminate knowledge from a perspective of epistemic sovereignty, cognitive justice, and social commitment. In the face of the commodification, media concentration, and technological dependence driven by actors from the Global North, the Diploma revives the regional tradition of cooperation, non-commercial open access, and the defense of knowledge as a collective right.
Aimed at authorities, managers, library teams, and publications departments, the proposal articulates theoretical frameworks, political-institutional analysis, and operational tools for the design and implementation of contextualized Open Science policies. Based on four integrated dimensions—theoretical, social, intellectual, and strategic—it addresses issues related to the diamond model, sovereign infrastructures, situated research evaluation, and citizen science.
The training combines theoretical classes, case studies, spaces for debate and reflective production, aimed at promoting sustainable, democratic and socially relevant institutional practices, capable of positioning the Latin American university as a central actor in the defense of knowledge as a common good.
The global expansion of Open Science is occurring within a context marked by profound geopolitical, economic, and cognitive inequalities. Far from being a neutral process, current open knowledge policies are permeated by dynamics of commodification, publishing concentration, technological dependence, and subordination to indicators constructed from the Global North. In this scenario, Latin American universities face the risk of reproducing extractive models that weaken their intellectual autonomy and limit the social impact of their research.
Historically, the region has developed pioneering experiences in non-commercial open access, academic cooperation, and the public dissemination of knowledge. However, these capacities are strained by funding, evaluation, and scientific visibility frameworks that prioritize market logics and private platforms. This negatively impacts epistemic sovereignty, the diversity of knowledge, and the capacity of institutions to respond to local social problems.
In this context, it is a priority to train institutional actors with critical and strategic skills to design, implement, and sustain Open Science policies aligned with public interests and territorial needs. The proposal is based on four interconnected dimensions: a theoretical dimension, focused on defending the sovereignty of knowledge; a social dimension, oriented towards democratization and citizen science; an intellectual dimension, focused on consolidating the diamond model and bibliodiversity; and a strategic dimension, linked to the development of sovereign and sustainable infrastructures.
The advanced diploma program addresses the need to move from fragmented initiatives to comprehensive institutional policies capable of integrating repositories, open data, situated assessment, non-commercial publications, and social engagement. In this way, it contributes to strengthening the role of Latin American universities as producers of critical, accessible, and socially relevant knowledge.
GENERAL PURPOSE
Strengthening the political, theoretical, and operational capacities of university authorities and managers to develop comprehensive Open Science policies oriented towards knowledge sovereignty, cognitive justice, and strengthening the public role of Latin American universities.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
1. Critically analyze the epistemological, geopolitical, and ethical foundations of Open Science in the context of the Global South.
2. To understand the effects of the commodification of knowledge on scientific production, circulation, and evaluation.
3. Examine regional models of non-commercial publishing and their potential to strengthen institutional autonomy.
4. Design strategies for the development and governance of open infrastructures for publications, data, repositories and software.
5. Promote research evaluation approaches based on situated indicators and social relevance.
6. Integrate citizen science perspectives and knowledge dialogue into university policies.
7. Develop contextualized institutional proposals that articulate theory, management, and social commitment.
8. Strengthen regional cooperation networks in Open Science.
The Higher Diploma in Open Science and Knowledge Sovereignty is aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate students; teachers at all levels; activists and members of trade unions, social movements and political parties; public officials; members and managers of non-governmental organizations and professionals interested in the subject.
The program consists of 5 modules of 3 weekly classes each, taught consecutively and linked together.
Total workload of 128 hours.
The modules that comprise the Higher Diploma are:
- Class 1: Open Science as a Common Good: Contemporary Debates
Teacher: Fernanda Beigel
This course introduces the conceptual foundations of Open Science as a global commons, analyzing its historical evolution from its founding declarations to current multilateral agendas. It explores the tension between openness, commodification, and corporate capture of knowledge, highlighting debates on intellectual property, access, reuse, and governance. From a Latin American perspective, it examines the role of public universities in the production of socially relevant knowledge and discusses the meaning of openness as a human right. The course promotes a critical reading of dominant discourses and incorporates regional contributions focused on academic autonomy, cooperation, and the strengthening of public infrastructure. - Class 2: Commodification, cognitive extractivism, and academic dependence
Teacher: Fernanda Beigel
This course analyzes the commodification of the scientific system through publishing concentration, pay-to-publish models, and commercial platforms. It introduces the concept of cognitive extractivism to describe the private appropriation of academic work from the Global South. The strategies of large publishing conglomerates and their impact on university budgets, knowledge dissemination, and institutional autonomy are examined. Furthermore, contemporary forms of academic dependency and their effects on research agendas, languages of publication, and symbolic hierarchies are considered. - Class 3: Epistemic sovereignty and epistemologies of the South
Teacher: Fernanda Beigel
This class addresses the concept of epistemic sovereignty as a strategic axis for Latin American universities. It analyzes the relationships between the coloniality of knowledge, linguistic hierarchies, and systems of scientific legitimation. Drawing on contributions from epistemologies of the Global South, it reflects on the plurality of knowledge, the situated production of knowledge, and the role of institutions in valuing local agendas. It also discusses editorial, evaluative, and educational policies aimed at strengthening intellectual autonomy and the regional circulation of knowledge.
- Class 4: The regional Open Access ecosystem
Teacher: Arianna Becerril García
This paper presents the historical development of open access in Latin America. It analyzes institutional networks, repositories, portals, and cooperative systems. The role of public universities in building shared infrastructure is examined. The solidarity-based and non-profit nature of the regional model is emphasized. - Class 5: Diamond Model: Institutional Management vs. Outsourcing
Teacher: Arianna Becerril García
This paper delves into the diamond model of scientific publishing that charges neither authors nor readers. It compares university-managed models with outsourced schemes. It analyzes the risks of privatization, loss of editorial control, and technological dependence. It also discusses strategies for institutional strengthening. - Class 6: Bibliodiversity and multilingualism in scientific communication
Teacher: Arianna Becerril García
The linguistic and thematic concentration in the global publishing system is addressed. The impact of English as the hegemonic language is analyzed. Bibliodiversity is promoted as an academic policy. The production of literature in local languages, disciplinary plurality, and the inclusion of regional knowledge are considered.
- Class 7: Institutional repositories and regulatory frameworks
Teacher: Fernando Ariel López
Institutional repositories are analyzed as central components of open science policy. National and institutional regulatory frameworks governing open access, mandatory deposit, digital preservation, and rights management are examined. Challenges related to implementation, interoperability, and sustainability are explored. The repository is considered as a strategic tool for visibility, institutional memory, and information sovereignty. - Class 8: Publications, open data, open education, free software and hardware
Teacher: Fernando Ariel López
This paper addresses the integrated ecosystem of open resources within the university. It analyzes policies on open publishing, open data, open educational resources, free software, and open hardware. It examines their interrelationships, institutional impacts, and potential for democratizing knowledge. It promotes a systemic view of openness as a cross-cutting policy, rather than as isolated initiatives. - Class 9: Research data, FAIR principles and data management plans
Teacher: Fernando Ariel López
Research data management is introduced as a structural component of open science. The FAIR principles and their adaptation to Latin American institutional contexts are analyzed. The design and implementation of data management plans are studied, considering technical, legal, ethical, and organizational aspects. The institutionalization of best practices is promoted to guarantee the reuse, traceability, and public value of scientific data.
- Class 10: Crisis of business metrics and the impact factor
Teacher: Gabriel Vélez-Cuartas
The origin and consolidation of commercial bibliometric indicators are examined. Their effects on research agendas, publication practices, and academic careers are analyzed. The reduction of scientific quality to rankings is problematized. The perverse incentives of the current system are reflected upon. - Class 11: New Horizons in Evaluation: The FOLEC Proposal
Teacher: Judith Naidorf
The Latin American approach to responsible evaluation is presented. Principles, criteria, and recommendations of FOLEC are analyzed. The assessment of social relevance, product diversity, and collaborative work is examined. A contextualized and democratic evaluation is promoted. - Class 12: Incentives and teaching career in Open Science
Teacher: Laura Rovelli
The relationship between evaluation policies, incentives, and academic career paths is addressed. Tensions between productivity, teaching, outreach, and management are analyzed. Strategies for incorporating open practices into regulations and statutes are discussed. A comprehensive reform of the academic career is promoted.
- Class 13: Citizen Science: Participation and Popular Knowledge
Teacher: Sarita Albagli
Citizen science is introduced as a form of knowledge co-production. Latin American experiences are analyzed. The integration of community, territorial, and ancestral knowledge is considered. Power relations in participatory processes are examined. - Class 14: Cognitive Justice. Data Justice, protocols and safeguards
Teacher: Sarita Albagli
This course addresses the design and implementation of ethical, methodological, and institutional protocols in citizen science and participatory knowledge production processes. It analyzes criteria for informed consent, data protection, collective ownership of results, recognition of authorship, and safeguarding sensitive knowledge. Regulatory frameworks and best practices aimed at preventing the extraction, commodification, and misappropriation of community knowledge are studied. Furthermore, collaborative governance mechanisms, institutional agreements, and intercultural mediation tools that guarantee symmetrical relationships between universities and social actors are examined. The course promotes the development of safeguards aimed at strengthening scientific integrity, cognitive justice, and the sustainability of co-production processes in Latin American contexts. - Class 15: Future Challenges: From Theory to Institutional Implementation
Teacher: Arianna Becerril García
The Diploma's content is integrated strategically. Political, cultural, and organizational barriers are analyzed. Models of institutional implementation are studied.
The design of situated action plans for Latin American universities is promoted.
- Fernando Ariel López (October Workers Foundation / Metropolitan University for Education and Work, Argentina)
- Arianna Becerril García (Autonomous University of the State of Mexico)
- Fernanda Beigel (CONICET – National University of Cuyo, Argentina)
- Laura Rovelli (Institute of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences, CONICET, National University of La Plata, Argentina)
- Judith Naidorf (Institute of Educational Research, Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina) | Gabriel Vélez Cuarta (University of Antioquia, Colombia)
- Sarita Albagli (Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology, Brazil)
| Early registration (until 07/07) | General registration (May 6th to May 12st) | Registration without discount (13/08 to 19/08) | Payment in 3 installments | |
| Full or Associate Member Center | $190 | $260 | $340 | USD 420 (3 x USD 140) |
| No Link | $340 | USD 410 | $460 | USD 630 (3 x USD 210) |
* Residents of Argentina will pay the equivalent in Argentine pesos according to the official exchange rate of the Banco de la Nación Argentina (BNA) on the day of payment.
You must be registered in the CLACSO Single Registration System (SUIC) and enter your username and password. If you are not registered, click here. hereTo access the registration form, you must click the "Register" button on the webpage of the Diploma you are interested in.
Upon completion of the registration process, you will receive a confirmation in your email.
Classes will begin in August and will conclude in December 2026.
All registered participants will receive, on the first day of activities, the necessary instructions to access the classes, bibliography, and discussion forums through the CLACSO Virtual Training Space.
Accessing and navigating the Virtual Learning Environment is very simple and user-friendly. In any case, a technical and academic support team will always be available. For inquiries, you can write to [email protected]
You must write an email with the request to [email protected] We will send you the requested certificate as soon as possible.
Exceptional criteria: In exceptional cases and within the first 20 days of starting the Higher Diploma, the student may write to [email protected] Requesting withdrawal and stating the reasons. After the case is evaluated, a response will be sent to the request. If approved, the student may resume the Higher Diploma program if a new cohort is offered the following year. After that period of time has elapsed since the start of the course, no requests will be accepted.
Money paid will only be refunded in cases where the organizing institutions decide to cancel the activity.
Yes, the advanced diploma is certified by CLACSO. The diploma will be sent digitally and is completely free of charge.
Payment can be made in one installment, by credit card or bank transfer. We also offer the option of paying in 3 installments.
Yes. There will be discounts for students belonging to CLACSO Member Centers and CLACSO Associated Centers, for CLACSO Associate Researchers, and for all those who pay within the discount period.
You can check if you belong to a member center here:
The Advanced Diploma program integrates a dynamic of asynchronous and synchronous classes. Classes are primarily asynchronous. The schedule for synchronous sessions will be communicated by the Diploma coordinator at the beginning of the program, and participation in these sessions is not a prerequisite for passing the program.
Queries: WhatsApp: +54 9 11 3880 – 1388
E-mail: [email protected]
