Iryna Kuchma, Manager of the EIFL Open Access Programme, has won the NDLTD ETD Leadership Award 2024, which recognizes individuals whose leadership and vision has helped to raise awareness of the benefits of open access electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs), and whose efforts have improved graduate education and research through the use of technology.

The  NDLT - Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations - is an international organization dedicated to promoting the adoption, creation, use, dissemination, and preservation of ETDs.  The NDLTD ETD Leadership award was announced today (6 November) at the 27th International Symposium on Electronic Theses and Dissertations in Livingstone, Zambia. 

Accepting the award, Iryna paid tribute to the EIFL network and the thousands of individuals and institutions in Africa, Asia and Europe who have supported the work of the EIFL Open Access Programme. “It is a perfect moment for all of us to celebrate the thousands of open access journals and repositories for electronic theses and dissertations, publications and research data, also the hundreds of open access policies. I am looking forward to many more moments together to celebrate open access and open science as the norm in research.”

Rima Kupryte, EIFL Director, said she was delighted about the award. “Iryna is a passionate advocate for open access and open science. National and institutional open access and open science policies adopted in EIFL partner countries mandate depositing research outputs in open access in repositories - and ETDs are the major content type in the repositories that EIFL has supported. We have also supported the establishment of national open access ETD repositories, for example in Serbia and in Armenia.” 

Iryna has managed the EIFL Open Access Programme, for over 16 years, leading EIFL’s open access strategy in developing and transition economy countries. She has been an advisor and board member for numerous leading organizations in the field, and is frequently invited to speak at international and national conferences and workshops in different regions of the world, including the annual NDLTD Symposium of ETDs.