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The research ethics process faces new challenges at a global scale. Technologies now appear faster than their ethical considerations can be made, running the risk that citizens of nations with the fewest safeguards will be the most burdened by unethical science. The irecs project aims to train researchers to prepare for and mitigate ethical issues in the development of technology, specifically in the areas of extended reality, AI in health, biobanking and genome editing.

To present the irecs project and exchange innovative solutions with other projects, partners and networks, part of the irecs team presented the project at the 8^th World Conference for Research Integrity (WCRI) in Athens, Greece, on 2-5 June 2024.

The WCRI is the largest and most significant international conference on Research Integrity and Responsible Conduct of Research. This year’s conference catered to a range of research integrity issues and responsible research practices, and had a thematic emphasis on catalysing the translation of research into trustworthy policy and innovation. The conference was organised by the World Conference on Research Integrity Foundation (WCRIF) and brought together leading experts from diverse fields to discuss both challenges to and developments in research integrity. Research integrity stakeholders included universities, research institutes, research funders, publishers and governments. The conference programme comprised 180 oral presentations, six pre-conference workshops, six plenary sessions and renowned speakers.

Our project coordinating team comprised of Dirk Lanzerath, Sandra Scholl and Daniela Proske from the University of Bonn represented the irecs project with a poster presentation that was part of the WCRI poster walk. This event incorporated 353 posters from national and international researchers and projects. The irecs poster outlined the project’s objectives and how it will address challenges raised by new and emerging technologies via developing and implementing training programmes.

irecs team member Eleni Spyrakou (National Technical University of Athens), who was a co-chair for this conference, presented on Identifying Training Needs for Research Ethics Committees. This paper drew upon a survey conducted by the irecs project and will be published as an article. The survey was part of the project’s aim to analyse ethics review processes and proposals for their adaptation, and collected data on experiences, needs and gaps in this area as well as preferred methods of training. Eleni also chaired the panel on the 7^th WCRI Cape Town statement on fostering research integrity through fairness and equity. The panel’s focus on fair practice in all aspects of research was very relevant to and informative for the irecs project.

The project’s team member Anaïs Resseguier (Trilateral Research) presented on Research Ethics for Artificial Intelligence, focusing on the twofold need for compliance requirements and an open process of reflection and attention. This paper drew upon irecs’ work in research ethics review processes and AI. Anaïs discussed the adaptations to research ethics frameworks needed for AI projects and how research ethics for AI can make AI ethics more effective.

Miriam van Loon and Mariëtte van den Hoven (Amsterdam University Medical Center) presented on measuring effectiveness of Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) education. Their talk provided insights into an international meta-analysis on how to evaluate the impact of RCR education and highlighted the importance of observing the effectiveness of training programs to ensure that they foster research integrity and quality.

The conference was a key opportunity for the irecs team to exchange knowledge with diverse stakeholders and similar EU projects, including VERITY, BEYOND, DIDYMOS-XR, TechEthos, POIESIS and IANUS. This knowledge will inform the second half of the irecs project and enable irecs to shape the future of research integrity and excellence.

Author:
Dr. Sean Travers, Trilateral Research