IAP-ISC Webinar: Safeguarding Scientific Data in Times of Crisis

In times of crisis - be it health emergencies, wars, natural hazards or cyber incidents - the integrity, availability and security of scientific data are at heightened risk. Despite growing digital infrastructure, many research institutions lack comprehensive strategies for secure data storage and loss prevention. A single disruption can wipe out years of research or restrict access when it’s most needed. As digital transformation accelerates, so too must our approaches to data resilience.

While these issues are increasingly urgent for the global research community, many science institutions may not have fully assessed their vulnerabilities or preparedness. This webinar seeks to address core questions around data storage models and proactive safeguarding strategies to ensure that scientific data remains intact, accessible and trustworthy in any crisis. Through this session, the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) and the International Science Council (ISC) will bring together experts to discuss the risks to scientific data during crises, best practices for resilience, and lessons learned from recent global emergencies. The event will provide a platform for researchers, institutional leaders and data experts to exchange insights and seek clarification on relevant strategies. The webinar will be recorded and summarized on the IAP and ISC websites (see past webinars).

Registration: All participants, including speakers, should register using this link.

Format and Structure:

Date: Wednesday, 21 May 2025
Time: 12:00 PM UTC / 2:00 PM Rome
Platform: Virtual on Zoom
Duration: 90 minutes

Themes and Topics:

• Where is Scientific Data Stored?
• Local servers vs. cloud storage vs. decentralized systems
• Institutional vs. third-party repositories
• Protect data and share them with trusted partners
• Preventive Measures and Resilience Planning
• Backups, redundancy, etc. Any best practices?
• Staff training and institutional preparedness
• Case Studies from Recent Crises
• Lessons learned and adaptive measures
• Post-crisis settings

The event will be recorded and summarized on the IAP website (see past webinars).

Speakers:

• Moderator: Stephanie Burton, University of Pretoria
• Burçak Başbuğ, Professor of Statistics and Disaster Science at the Middle East Technical University (METU)
• Yana Sychikova, Vice-Rector for Research, Berdyansk State Pedagogical University, Ukraine
• Serhii Nazarovets, Senior Researcher, Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University, Ukraine
• Thalia Arawi, Founder of the Salim El-Hoss Bioethics and Professionalism. Program (SHBPP) at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. Specialist in medical bioethics in times of crisis
• Larry Hughes, Vice President of Research and Development at the Cloud Security Alliance

Contact Information:

The webinar is organized by the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) as part of its ongoing webinar series. Inquiries should be sent to Peter MaGrath mcgrath@twas.org or the IAP Secretariat at iap@twas.org.

About the speakers:

Stephanie Burton: is a Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Pretoria (UP), where she is also affiliated with Future Africa. She served as UP’s Vice-Principal for Research and Postgraduate Education from 2011 to 2020. She is President and Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa, Vice-President of the Academy of Science of South Africa, and holds leadership roles with Future Earth, the International Academy Partnership, and Universities South Africa. She holds an MSc in Organic Chemistry and a PhD in Biochemistry from Rhodes University. Her career has included academic positions at Rhodes University, the University of Cape Town, and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Her research focuses on sustainability and applied biochemistry, with extensive publications and postgraduate supervision. Prof. Burton is committed to research capacity building, ethics, and strategy. She leads national projects on mentoring early-career academics and chairs the USAf Community of Practice in Postgraduate Education. She is active in numerous national and international bodies in research and doctoral training.

Burcak Basbug has 26 years of experience in disaster risk reduction, policy development and education. Shegraduated from the University of Warwick in 2002 (MSc) and London School of Economics and Political Science in 2007 (PhD). She is Professor of Statistics and Disaster Science at the Middle East Technical University (METU), Türkiye. From 2019 to  2020, she was the Course Director of MSc Disaster Management and Resilience at Coventry University, UK. Prior to this (2008-2018), she was Director of the METU Disaster Management Centre. She is an editorial board member of the ODI journal ‘Disasters’. She is a board member of the International Science Council (ISC) CODATA International Data Policy Committee (IDPC) since 2022. She is a co-chair of the UNESCO-CODATA Data Policy for Times of Crisis Facilitated by Open Science Project. Since 2019, she is an Academic Partnership Director of the Institute of Civil Protection and Emergency Management (ICPEM), and a member of the Chatham House, UK.

Dr. Yana Sychikova is a Professor and Vice-rector for Research at Berdyansk State Pedagogical University, Ukraine. Her scientific work spans materials science, nanotechnology and semiconductor physics, with a focus on oxide heterostructures for photonics and energy applications. She also explores the ethical and practical dimensions of AI use in research and is an active advocate for responsible open science. During the war, Dr. Sychikova played a leading role in the digital recovery and institutional resilience of her university, which was displaced from the occupied city of Berdyansk. Her research increasingly addresses crisis-affected higher education, data ethics in conflict zones, and the integration of CARE principles (Collective benefit, Authority to control, Responsibility, Ethics) into institutional practices. She contributes to science policy reform, reproducibility initiatives, and international discussions on safeguarding research systems during global disruptions.

Dr. Serhii Nazarovets is a senior researcher at Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University, Ukraine. His work lies at the intersection of scholarly communication, bibliometrics and research ethics. As a recognised expert in the field of scientometrics, he studies research performance, distortions in scholarly publishing, and the ways in which metadata infrastructures influence academic visibility and evaluation. His research emphasizes the importance of transparency, accuracy and ethical standards in the collection and use of scientific metadata, particularly in settings affected by conflict or institutional instability. Dr. Nazarovets is especially interested in how crises impact the flow of knowledge and create new challenges for data governance. He supports a human-centred approach to open science, where accessibility is balanced with care and responsibility. His work contributes to international discussions on building more reliable, ethical and inclusive research systems.

Dr. Thalia (Talia) Arawi: BA Sociology, MA Political and Moral Philosophy, PhDs Philosophy and Bioethics.
Dr. Arawi founded the Salim El-Hoss Bioethics and Professionalism Program (SHBPP) at the American University of Beirut Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, in Lebanon. She was Director of the Program from inception to 2023. The SHBPP is the first and only Bioethics and Professionalism Program in the Arab Region and was recently announced as the first WHO Collaborating Center for Ethics in the Arab Region. Dr. Arawi is the first Arab to specialise in bioethics and is also a clinical bioethicist.

Larry Hughes is Vice President of Research and Development at the Cloud Security Alliance. With more than 20 years of experience in the security industry, Larry holds five advanced security certifications, including CCSK, CCSP and CISSP. His past roles include Senior Principal GRC Engineer at Seagate Lyve Cloud, GRC Director at Equinix, and Head of Information Security at Amazon.com.

About the organisers:

The InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) is a global network of 150 academies of science, engineering, and medicine. With its four regional networks – in Africa (NASAC), the Americas (the InterAmerican Network of Academies of Sciences, IANAS), Asia/Oceania (the Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia, AASSA) and Europe (the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council, EASAC) – IAP provides a platform for mobilising regional and national expertise on wide ranging issues of global importance, and for facilitating cooperation with other key stakeholders and potential partners. IAP’s secretariat offices are hosted by The World Academy of Sciences in Trieste, Italy, and the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC, USA.
More information is available at www.interacademies.org
Questions should be sent to iap@twas.org.

The International Science Council, is an international non-governmental organization that brings together 250 international scientific unions and associations, national and regional scientific organizations including academies and research councils, international federations and societies, and young academies and associations.
More information is available at https://council.science/