MyanmarIntroduction
Currently, 01 OA journal published in Myanmar is indexed in the Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources (ROAD): The Myanmar Dental Journal published by the Myanmar Dental Association. Researchers from Myanmar are found to publish their articles in International Open Access Journals. For example, 10+ OA articles have been published with BioMed Central- an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the Open Access publishing model – by researchers from the Department of Medical Research, the Ministry of Health and the National Tuberculosis Programme, among others. Myanmar has free access to more than 8,000 commercial journals, covering more than 10 million articles, through the Research4Life program.
Currently, no OA policies at the institutional or national levels are registered in the Registry of Open Access Repository Mandates and Policies (ROARMAP).
Events and Programs
Past and Future OA related Activities
● 26-27 May, 2015: EIFL (Electronic Information for Libraries) – in association with the University of Mandalay and the University of Yangon – organized once again, a series of seminars on Open Access as a part of the EIFL eLibrary Myanmar project. One of the guest speakers, Fred Chan, Research and Data Services Librarian at the University of Hong Kong Libraries, met with academic staff and librarians from the University of Yangon, the Yangon University of Economics, Dagon University, West Yangon University and East Yangon University to discuss Open Access developments in Myanmar. Over 200 participants, Heads of Departments, Senior Faculty Members, Librarians and PhD Students – gathered to discuss how Open Access can help to disseminate research results in the most efficient way, and also to maximize the visibility, usage and impact of universities’ research publications in Myanmar. As a result of the seminars, an Open Access Working Group was set up at the University of Mandalay to develop an Open Access repository and draft an Open Access policy. In addition, University of Yangon faculty and management have also expressed interest and commitment to develop an institutional Open Access strategy and policy.
● In February 2015, EIFL conducted the first seminars on Open Access in Myanmar in association with the University of Mandalay, the University of Yangon and Yadanabon University as a part of the EIFL eLibrary Myanmar project.
● In 2013, CRDF Global hosted a Professional Skills workshop in Myanmar on accessing and publishing in international research journals. The workshop was organized for 60 faculty members and graduate students of the Yangon Technical University. Following the workshop, the university enacted a requirement that Ph.D. candidates must publish at least one article in an international journal before graduating. During the workshop, CRDF Global’s Charles Dunlap introduced participants to CRDF Global's Open Access, single-search site the Virtual Science Library (VSL) Open Portal.