MDPI UK 6-Month Event Overview: Expanding Outreach Initiatives Internationally

MDPI UK has hosted various events over the last six months, introducing new event formats, extending our Editor’s Forums to Europe, and attending an array of conferences across the UK.

Events are an opportunity to bring together editors, researchers, and academics from a range of institutions; to speak about MDPI’s editorial processes[JM3.1]; and highlight key topics within the publishing landscape, such as publication ethics, research integrity, and artificial intelligence.

We overview MDPI UK’s recent events below.

Manchester Summit, 22 January 2026: Collaborating with the UK Scholarly Community

At the start of the year, MDPI UK held the Manchester Summit at the Hyatt Regency, hosting 22 attendees.

The event opened with an introductory speech by Stefan Tochev, CEO, followed by an engaging Q&A session, where attendees explored a range of topics relating to peer review processes, Special Issues, APCs, indexing, AI use, and support for researchers.

We also welcomed Prof. Dr. Geoff Hide, founding Editor-in-Chief of Parasitologia, who shared his experience of developing and managing a new journal, which was a key discussion point.

Following the event, MDPI UK received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with attendees describing the summit as informative, enjoyable, and organised.

International Women’s Day, 10 March 2026: An evening of discussion, insight and connections centered around the theme of ‘Give to Gain’

To mark International Women’s Day 2026, MDPI UK held an event for Women in Research at the Manchester Museum.

Welcoming 40 attendees in total, the event fostered connections between women working in research and provided a dedicated space to discuss different experiences in the industry.

The event was designed for women who are early career researchers, students, and/or navigating careers in research and academia wishing to hear from women in research and leadership positions.

We also discussed this year’s International Women’s Day theme, ‘Give to Gain’, which covered topics such as the challenges facing women in research, what an ideal research culture looks like, and what strong support looks like at both a personal and institutional level.

The feedback for the event was overwhelmingly positive, with participants highlighting the interesting and thoughtful topics covered by the panel as well as the supportive environment created by the panel members.

Manchester Researchers’ Networking, 30 June 2026: Meeting with local researchers, editors, and others across the local scholarly community

The Manchester Researchers’ Networking event was held at Rain Bar to thank the local academic community for their contributions to MDPI over the last 30 years.

The event was less structured than our usual Forums and Summits, adopting a relaxed approach which proved to be an effective environment for attendees looking for a valuable networking opportunity.

Overall, this event was characterised by a warm, chatty atmosphere and saw genuine networking take place between scholars from the local area. Attendees were able to speak at length to MDPI staff about their research and learn more about MDPI’s approaches to current issues and how we are working to serve the academic community.

Local Editors’ Forums: Showcasing opportunities within academic publishing

MDPI UK’s first local Editors’ Forum took place in Cambridge last year, with the intention of connecting the local academic community and providing opportunities for those scholars to build or strengthen their professional network.

The event was extremely successful, and we’ve continued its format, hosting four local Editors’ Forums across the UK over the last six months, taking place in York, Glasgow, London, and Birmingham.

Western European Editors’ Forums

This year, MDPI UK extended its outreach programs to more Western European regions, hosting inaugural Editors’ Forums in both Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Reykjavik, Iceland, where we were able to conduct additional community engagement within these countries.

Amsterdam Editors’ Forum, 20 May 2026: Expanding outreach into the Dutch academic community

MDPI’s inaugural Amsterdam Editors’ Forum at Park Plaza Victoria Amsterdam marked our first event in the Netherlands and gave us a chance to discuss challenges and opportunities in the Dutch academic publishing landscape. Our standard format was adopted, which was complemented by a talk from an Associate Editor’s perspective, delivered by Dr. Frank Vriesekoop.

Much like the London Forum, the rise of artificial intelligence within publishing was one of the most discussed topics. In response, MDPI representatives communicated the company’s people-driven values and stance on the use of AI, as well as outlining MDPI’s AI policy on content creation, reviewing processes, and publication ethics.

The Forum also provided a valuable opportunity for MDPI staff to engage in detailed discussions about journal reputation and publishing standards. We explored funding, accessibility, and inclusivity in publishing by discussing the range of financial support available at MDPI and the initiatives designed to support underrepresented research communities, emphasizing that editorial decisions are made based on manuscript quality and research integrity considerations.

Feedback was positive, highlighting the informative nature of the presentations, value of the discussion groups, and opportunity to engage directly with MDPI staff. Several attendees commented that the event improved their understanding of MDPI’s publishing processes and editorial standards, whilst others praised the welcoming atmosphere and networking opportunities.

Reykjavik Editors’ Forum, 12 June 2026: Strengthening Icelandic scholarly insights

MDPI’s first Icelandic Editors’ Forum took place at Gróska, Bjargargata 1, 102, Reykjavik, and provided our team with an invaluable window into the specifics of the challenges faced by Icelandic scholars. We strengthened this insight though the additional outreach we conducted with RANNIS, Iceland’s primary public funding agency, the Iceland National Library, and the Iceland Consortium.

The event closed with an engaging Q&A session, where attendees raised a range of topics relating to APCs and funding, MDPI’s review times and internal system mechanisms, the integration of AI tools to support translation processes, and MDPI’s reputation, reception, and plans to continue establishing MDPI as reliable, rigorous, and efficient.

The Forum concluded with reflections on the future of academic publishing, particularly the opportunities and challenges presented by artificial intelligence, research integrity, and increasing demands on researchers and editors.

Upcoming MDPI UK Events

The first half of the year was an exciting time for MDPI UK, and the next six months look to be equally productive, with Subject Workshops on physics, engineering, human medicine, social sciences, and humanities, taking us to London and Manchester.

There will also be a range of domestic and international Editors’ Forums, including Bristol, Belfast, Dublin, and Helsinki, as well as our much-anticipated Senior Editors’ Forum in London.

We look forward to these events and the future collaborations they may bring!