Melanie Bartos is a science communicator at the University of Innsbruck. Her work focuses on developing multimedia formats like podcasts and on online and social media communication in general.
She is particularly engaged with topics related to climate and societal transformation. A dedication to non-profit and privacy-friendly approaches runs through all areas of her work: Bartos leads the university’s initiative to establish a Mastodon instance and a presence in the Fediverse, based on the principles of "Open Science Communication."
Additionally, she serves as chair of FREIRAD, the Free Radio Innsbruck, is part of the independent podcasting community associated with the Sendezentrum, co-founded the platform wissenschaftspodcasts.de, and gives talks and workshops across Europe.
The communications team of the University of Innsbruck has implemented a strategy for using, designing, and promoting non-profit, privacy-friendly, and open-source media structures. Under the position paper with the title "Open Science Communication," the university’s communication is committed to a long-term approach to transforming digital infrastructures.
Key topics include digital sovereignty, the importance of open standards, the impact of new regulations like the EU’s Digital Services Act, and the role of universities as pioneers in providing public digital infrastructures as part of the Third Mission.
Examples of this implementation include the use of Mastodon and Wikipedia as open platforms. The ultimate goal is to ensure broad access to publicly funded knowledge through independent, open structures with high data protection standards. Position paper: https://www.uibk.ac.at/de/public-relations/kommunikation/open-science-communication/