On 8 May 2026, during the Graduation Ceremony of the Executive Masters in Management of Research Infrastructures (EMMRI), OpenCitations was awarded the Certificate of Excellence in Research Infrastructure Leadership. This recognition was achieved through the participation of members of the OpenCitations team in the 2024–2026 class of the Excellence Programme for Research Infrastructures, an initiative designed to support research infrastructures in developing organisational competencies across their teams, fostering sustainable and effective leadership models.
The OpenCitations participants included Director Silvio Peroni, CTO Ivan Heibi, Research Manager Claudio Fabbri, Systems Administrator Mario Petrella, and Communications Director Chiara Di Giambattista, who took part in the 11 modules of the programme. Across these modules, OpenCitations built a network of relationships and exchanges with other selected research infrastructures and strengthened its competencies in the following areas:
- Governance and organisation
- Developing a sustainable funding model for RIs
- International law and compliance
- Financial management
- Raising awareness
- Leadership and team building
- Service provision
- Infrastructure and resource management
- Strategic management of RIs
- Business development and innovation in the RI context
The graduation ceremony, the final step of this two-year journey, brought together faculty members and representatives from the research infrastructures. Among the reflections shared during the event, one phrase captured the spirit of the programme: “Leadership is a form of enthusiasm”. Indeed, this experience made it clear that such enthusiasm was widely shared among participants, including colleagues from different infrastructures worldwide. The exchange of perspectives promoted throughout each module of the programme fostered a more grounded and pragmatic understanding of how research infrastructures evolve and collaborate in an international environment.
We would like to thank the EMMRI team, in particular the Director Professor Marialuisa Lavritrano, and Professor Enrico Guarini and Drs. Laura Farina, for selecting OpenCitations for this programme and for developing an initiative that is both well-structured and internationally relevant, hosted at the University of Milano-Bicocca.
At the end of this programme, OpenCitations carries forward the responsibility to build on the stimulating discussions and insights gained throughout the course. We will work to further develop the competencies acquired and reflect on both the strengths and limitations identified through this exchange, to continue supporting the long-term sustainability and development of OpenCitations as an open scholarly infrastructure
