STM today announced the appointment of Dr Hylke Koers as Chief Information Officer of its new initiative STM Solutions. STM Solutions has been established to develop and manage forward-thinking shared infrastructures and collaborative services to support the scholarly communications community. Its establishment represents a significant milestone in the collective management of the integrity of the scholarly record for future generations. The initiative will formally launch in April 2021 when Dr Koers commences his new role.
Dr Koers joins STM Solutions from SURF, the collaborative organization for information and communication technologies in Dutch education and research. During his time at SURF he was responsible for the development and delivery of research data management services – crucial to the long-term storage, preservation and management of data created during research projects according to the FAIR principles. As well as working with Federated Identity and Access Management (FIAM) technologies and standards to simplify access for researchers. He brings with him an impressive track record of successful multi-stakeholder collaborations such as the creation of Scholix, the linking protocol for research data and publications, and the development of national research data infrastructure and services around iRODS and YODA (“Your Data”).
Dr Koers has held leading roles in FAIRsFAIR, the Research Data Alliance and served on the EOSC Architecture Working Group. Prior to this and after completing his PhD in theoretical physics, he held several positions at Elsevier where he applied technological solutions to evolve the format of the scholarly article and to leverage big data to improve editorial processes.
STM’s CEO Ian Moss said of Dr Koers’ appointment: “I am delighted that Hylke will be taking on a leadership role in our new STM Solutions initiative. He lives and breathes collaboration and possesses a strong network throughout the academic community. His experience and knowledge are a perfect fit with STM and his appointment will help us to continue to advance the communication of trusted research. Hylke’s arrival also marks the launch of STM Solutions, which will become an essential strand of our ongoing Open Science initiatives.”
STM Solutions’ initial focus will be on access solutions that build upon the foundations established by GetFTR and STM’s participation in the SeamlessAccess coalition. In addition, STM Solutions will explore the prototyping, evaluation and operating of new services, working closely with STM’s Standards and Technology Executive Committee (STEC). These initiatives will include new publisher-led activities that aim to create improved efficiencies through wide cross-industry collaborations.
Speaking of his appointment, Dr Koers stressed the significance of this new venture for the wider scholarly ecosystem: “I am deeply excited about this opportunity and I am convinced that STM Solutions will be successful in applying modern web technology to create meaningful impacts on a global scale for the benefit of both researchers and publishers.”
