MDPI UK hosted the MDPI Glasgow Editor's Forum at Glasgow Caledonian University, which brought together a selection of researchers, Editorial Board Members and Guest Editors from a range of institutions across Scotland. Additionally, there were a wide range of key members across 22 MDPI journals in attendance as well.

The Editor’s Forum aimed to highlight the current challenges and opportunities within the UK academic publishing landscape. Attendees were introduced to MDPI’s editorial and peer review processes, as well as research integrity and publication ethics.  Furthermore, MDPI’s community outreach initiatives were covered, showcasing MDPI’s role in supporting UK researchers.

Key Event Highlights

The event opened with an engaging Q&A session, with questions being asked on various topics, including peer review, support for researchers and AI use.

MDPI UK staff then delivered a wide range of presentations, which discussed topics based on MDPI’s editorial processes.

The event concluded with discussion group sessions, in which attendees were provided with the opportunity to explore broader structural and community issues affecting academic publishing with their peers.

Editorial Processes and Peer Review

Concerns were raised about perceived bias within editorial workflows, describing situations where two positive reviewer reports could be outweighed by a single negative review lacking substantive feedback. This led to broad discussions around transparency, the editorial process and standards, and how editorial teams assess reviewer recommendations and decision-making processes.

There were also various discussions centred around the topic of reviewers, including the management of reviewers, the use of AI within the review process, and issues surrounding reviewer invitations. MDPI addressed the operational challenges involved within reviewer recruitment, and highlighted their quality control procedures, ensuring the reviewers remain transparent with the authors throughout the editorial process.

Special Issues and Editorial Roles 

Questions were asked about the relationship between Editorial Boards and Special Issues, including how Special Issue proposals are evaluated and managed. A question was raised about institutional ethics perceptions when Guest Editors publish within their own Special Issues. MDPI outlined the process and editorial oversight involved, as well as clarification on the safeguards and editorial separation processed used to maintain impartiality.

Attendees also explored the possibility of multidisciplinary Special Issues spanning multiple journals, with one participant highlighting the value of greater cross-journal collaboration. 

Research Support

How MDPI is increasing support for researchers was a key topic for attendees. In response to comments about article processing charges and their affordability, MDPI’s various discount schemes and the importance of supporting underfunded and early-career researchers were highlighted.

As well as the discount schemes, MDPI highlighted other pathways for support, including Academic Publishing Workshops and community support initiatives. Here, MDPI introduced the new Mini Grants initiative, a grant designed to help fund non-research-related activities aimed at early career researchers and the staff who support them. 

AI and Research Integrity

Unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence (AI) emerged as a major topic throughout the Forum. Participants discussed the increasing use of AI tools in manuscript preparation and peer review, as well as the challenges editors face in identifying AI-generated content.

Attendees broadly agreed that while AI detection tools can support editorial workflows, human oversight remains essential. Participants suggested that AI use should be clearly declared and potentially limited to language polishing or grammar support rather than content generation.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the Forum provided an excellent opportunity for editors, Guest Editors, and researchers to share experiences, discuss current publishing challenges, and strengthen connections across the Scottish academic community.

The Editor’s Forum was a big success, with feedback from the event highlighting the discussion groups as a particular strength. Attendees also described the presentations as helpful, with positive feedback from experienced academics.

MDPI UK would like to thank everyone who attended the Forum, as well as all MDPI staff involved in organising and delivering the event. We look forward to continuing these conversations and further supporting the UK scholarly community through future events and collaborations.