TRIPLE: Behind the Scenes #4: Mateusz Franczak

In the series “TRIPLE: Behind the Scenes” we feature individual staff members from the TRIPLE project team, to give a face to the people behind the scenes. What is their role in the project, what is their background, and how did they get in touch with the Open Science movement?

This time, we would like to introduce to you Mateusz Franczak from the Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IBL PAN).

Mateusz, What is your role in the TRIPLE project?

I am leading the IBL PAN communication and dissemination tasks in the OPERAS-related projects. IBL PAN is the Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences. My main role is to disseminate information about the project, maximise its impact and expand the network of contacts. Apart from my advocacy, dissemination and communication tasks for TRIPLE, I support and advise on topics related to Open Science in my function as Open Science Officer at the Digital Humanities Centre at the IBL PAN. Recently, I have been mainly involved in developing an openness policy for the IBL PAN, which included preparing documentation, organising meetings and carrying out consultations.

What is your background in terms of previous work experience and academic discipline, and which specific perspective(s) does that background contribute to TRIPLE?

For over a decade I have been involved in numerous Open Access initiatives within the digital humanities, mostly in the field of the social sciences and humanities (SSH) books and journals, such as bibliographical and full-text databases, as well as cultural heritage projects (digital audiovisual collections). I co-managed the Polish database of journals from humanities and social studies BazHum, where I was responsible for contacts with publishers and obtaining licenses to share their journals in full text form. I received my Master’s degree in Cultural Studies from the University of Warsaw.

What are you currently working on in the TRIPLE project?

Currently, I am mainly involved in the dissemination of the information materials about TRIPLE (news, recent activities within the project, surveys, conferences etc.), translating them into Polish and sending them to various stakeholders to make sure that the information reaches everyone concerned, e.g. researchers, scientists, educators, authors of scientific blogs, social media, scientific institutions and policy makers. I keep the list of Polish contacts updated for the needs of further activities. Multilingualism is one of the key aspects that we pay special attention to in TRIPLE. That is why we consider it very important to translate the content created within the project that we then can disseminate on a national level. Besides the communication aspect, multilingualism is very important for the GOTRIPLE platform itself – enabling the search across nine different languages is one of the biggest assets of our platform.

How has the pandemic changed your working routines in the TRIPLE project?

I have worked remotely for many years, so I am used to it, and the pandemic has not affected my working routines at all. However, sometimes I miss having live meetings with the team. The biggest change since the beginning of the pandemic is the new resident of our flat who faithfully accompanies me during my work day and sometimes even participates in meetings. Hanji usually appears at the least expected moments!

Thanks a lot for the interview, Mateusz!

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The TRIPLE project is funded by the European Commission, under Grant Agreement No. 863420. Project coordinator is Suzanne Dumouchel (Huma-Num), Co-coordinator of OPERAS. For more information please contact her at Suzanne.Dumouchel[at]huma-num.fr.

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