MDPI’s Academic Publishing Workshops: Helping Researchers Navigate Publishing with Confidence
As an author, getting your work published can seem daunting. It is a process that requires the navigation of complex processes and adherence to often unfamiliar standards.
As the world’s largest fully open access publisher, MDPI’s commitment to facilitating access and transparency extends beyond the availability of its published work to providing practical support for the academic community at large.
Held both online and offline at universities and institutions globally, MDPI’s Academic Publishing Workshops aim to demystify the publication process and equip scholars with the tools necessary to achieve publication.
About Academic Publishing Workshops (APWs)
APWs are interactive workshops that cover a range of topics, such as advice on how best to structure research to increase its chances of passing peer review, practical strategies for handling rejection at the pre-review stage, and guidance on how to find the most suitable journal to submit your work to. They are typically between 1 and 2 hours long, and each session also includes a Q&A segment, allowing attendees to gain further insights and make the most of the specialist knowledge of MDPI staff.
Institutions can select from a range of topics offered by MDPI staff to tailor their sessions to the needs and areas of interests of their students and staff.
Specific journals can also be introduced to cohorts if their research focus aligns with the journal’s scope, therefore offering them potential avenues for submissions. For example, a workshop delivered to members of the Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies at Royal Holloway University of London last quarter featured presentations from the Editor and Managing Editor of MDPI’s Genealogy journal alongside the more standard topics of the editorial process and manuscript preparation.
Recent in-person APWs
Last quarter, MDPI delivered a total of 16 APWs at 9 institutions across 4 countries, reaching approximately 650 scholars. In the UK, staff presented at universities across the UK, including the University of Buckingham, Royal Holloway, Sheffield Hallam, and the University of East Anglia.
Two sessions were hosted at Teesside University. In the first session, MDPI staff worked with Dr. Hiba Alsmadi, Lecturer in Data Visualisation and Artificial Intelligence at Teesside University, to deliver a presentation on the theme of ‘Women in AI’ in celebration of International Women's Day, which was generously sponsored by MDPI’s Electronics journal.
The second session, held the following month, was conducted following an invitation from Dr. Shweta Kuba, Senior Lecturer in Bioinformatics at Teesside University, to deliver a more general presentation to a larger body of students and faculty, receiving sponsorship from six MDPI journals due to its broader focus. This session introduced attendees to MDPI and its role in UK publishing before outlining the editorial process and covering common reasons for manuscript rejection and how to avoid them. Following this, a Q&A segment allowed attendees to ask questions.
Later in the quarter, in collaboration with the University of Buckingham, MDPI hosted an APW for members of the Translational Cardiovascular Research Group (TCRG), a clinical research unit based at Milton Keynes University Hospital, upon invitation a member of MDPI’s Journal of Clinical Medicine, Professor Attila Kardos, who delivered an introductory speech at the session. The session covered how to write a scientific paper, with a breakdown of how a paper should be structured and the purpose of each section, followed by guidance through MDPI’s editorial process and an exploration of the timely topic of the use of AI in the publishing landscape. The session ended with a short Q&A and closing remarks.
Recent online APWs
MDPI’s APWs can also be delivered online, enabling this knowledge to be shared with institutions beyond the UK, bridging global knowledge and access gaps to empower authors worldwide.
A particularly notable example of this was MDPI’s collaboration with the British Academy’s International Writing Workshops programme last quarter. The Writing Workshops initiative aims to provide career researchers in developing countries with mentorship and academic connections whilst boosting their knowledge of the academic requirements of journals to increase the likelihood of having their work published.
MDPI staff delivered an online session to early-career women researchers in Malaysia, providing an introduction to open access publishing and the editorial process. As the event was part of a wider project to support researchers in the fields of Language, Culture, and Migration, staff also introduced attendees to MDPI journals related to these fields, highlighting suitable venues for their work to be published. MDPI’s partnership with other initiatives has allowed it to extend the reach of its APWs, both in the UK and beyond.
Across March and April this year, MDPI staff also conducted a four-part APW series for students and researchers at Turan University, Kazakhstan, the largest private university in the country. On this occasion, MDPI was invited to deliver these workshop sessions by Dr. Nurbolat Nyshanbayev, Director of the Higher School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Turan University. The four sessions saw a combined attendance of 259 people, a reflection not only of the broad appeal of these workshops, but also their sustained effectiveness when delivered online.
The workshop sessions received overwhelmingly positive feedback from both attendees and institutional staff, with many commenting that they learned a lot of new things and would be interested in having repeat workshops held at their institutions in the future.
Looking to the future
As a leading Open Access publisher, MDPI’s commitment to increasing accessibility in academia is foundationally linked to a desire to empower researchers and break access barriers. Academic Publishing Workshops are a key part of this commitment, representing a meaningful investment in equipping researchers with the foundational skills and confidence they need to successfully publish their work.
Last quarter saw the successful delivery of numerous APWs across the country and beyond, with attendees consistently reporting that these sessions provided them with important knowledge and relevant skills with which to approach publishing with greater confidence, and multiple institutions expressing interest in holding repeat events.
Through the continuation of these workshops and the increase of their frequency and reach, MDPI hopes to connect with scholars and institutions in the UK and beyond and strengthen its relationship with the academic community through its offer of support, transparency, and education.
Interested in what Academic Publishing Workshops offer? Contact us to arrange an APW to be run at your institution.
