On August 23, 2024, PCG Academia was awarded a significant contract with the University of Zurich (UZH) to deliver the latest version of the DSpace scientific repository to UZH. The team will oversee data migration from UZH’s existing solution and will provide UZH with long-term maintenance and development services, including training university staff on proper use of the system. The final version of the UZH repository based on DSpace will feature a customized user interface aligned with UZH’s brand book and visual identity guidelines; its expected release is scheduled for the fall of 2025.

"I am proud of the PCG team, which, during the months-long process of selecting a DSpace repository provider for the University of Zurich, demonstrated that they possess the knowledge, competencies, and skills necessary to carry out projects for even the most demanding universities," said Łukasz Nowak, President of PCG Academia. "I hope that our success at UZH will accelerate PCG's international expansion and help ‘convince the unconvinced’ in the domestic science management market in Poland."

The goal is to modernize the so-called Zurich Open Repository and Archive (ZORA) – an institutional scientific repository currently holding 200,000 objects that UZH developed, and has used, for 17 years. Following the example of dozens of universities worldwide, UZH has decided to replace its current solution with the latest version of the DSpace scientific repository.

PCG Academia has over five years of experience in implementing and customizing the DSpace system for higher education institutions, including successful implementations for two of Poland’s largest and highest-ranked universities – the Jagiellonian University (UJ) in Krakow and the University of Warsaw (UW). In 2024, to mark the launch of repositories at both UJ and UW, special conferences were planned: the first took place in February in Krakow, and the second will be held on October 24-25 in Warsaw, in close cooperation with the UW Library.

LYRASIS Gold Partner

PCG Academia is the only company in Poland with the status of a gold partner of the American consortium LYRASIS, which is responsible for the development and maintenance of the DSpace platform. The gold partnership is granted to entities directly involved in the development of technologies like DSpace, and PCG is among the few companies contributing the most code to the development of the DSpace repository and actively participating in building its user community.

Universities interested in implementing, integrating, developing, and maintaining the DSpace scientific repository are encouraged to contact PCG Academia.