On October 21, 2025, in the framework of the International Open Access Week, the IE University Library hosted the session “Own Your Knowledge: Open Access in Practice for Everyone” to raise awareness and understanding of Open Access (OA) and the importance of authors retaining control of their intellectual property.

The event invited our academic community to reflect on the meaning and relevance of OA as a core element of Open Science (OS), exploring how both are reshaping research visibility, authorship, and impact. Through a practical and interactive format, participants learned how to share their work widely while retaining key rights and complying with current funder and publisher mandates.

The session included an overview of the legal and policy landscape for OA and OS, as well as guidance on meeting requirements at both national and international levels. We also covered the main OA routes (green, gold, and diamond), embargo periods, how to deposit research outputs in repositories, and how to select the right Creative Commons licence to balance openness with protection.

Afterwards, we made participants aware about the IE University Institutional Repository (repositorio.ie.edu), highlighting its role in providing open access to the university’s research and ensuring compliance with funder and publisher requirements.

After the presentation, a dynamic group activity with a quiz helped participants recap the key takeaways from the session.

We would like to thank everyone who joined us onsite and online for their enthusiasm and participation.

For more information about the session, you can find the slides here.