MDPI is a leader in Open Access publishing and has 25 years of experience in the industry. During this time, we have collected a wealth of knowledge in open science that helps us to guide scholars and researchers in their Open Access (OA) journey. This can range from publishing papers to assisting with launching journals. There are specific teams that can help with all your Open Access publishing needs. In this series, we explore the Societies team, who support societies in their OA journey.

What is the Open Access publishing model?

Open Access is a model for publishing academic research that allows articles to be freely available to anyone at no cost. This research is commonly free to reuse and reference in academic research.

If you would like to read more about Open Access publishing, please see our previous articles.

Who are the Societies team?

Society journals are set up and maintained by a specialised team of experts.

The main responsibilities of this team include:

• Establishing new Open Access journals on behalf of societies and institutions.
• Publishing an existing Open Access journal with MDPI or transitioning a subscription journal to an Open Access model.
• Establishing affiliation between societies and MDPI journals.

The team is also supported by students who benefit from gaining knowledge about the Open Access model. If you would like to read more about these services, please see the Societies website.

The society partnerships specialists are the team’s backbone. Dr. Maria Fotiou and Maria Noguera use their expertise and experience to help guide societies on how best to support the Open Access movement, e.g., launching their own Open Access journal or affiliating with an existing Open Access journal. A wide range of societies collaborate with MDPI societies and partnership teams in various forms, see the Society’s website for the full list of collaborating societies and society journals.

In this article, we interview the specialists of the Societies team, discussing their roles and the importance of the Open Access publishing movement.

Dr. Maria Fotiou is a Society and Partnership Specialist who has a range of responsibilities. This includes coordinating current society journals, establishing new society journals and the transfer of existing journals such as Acta Microbiologica Hellenica.

 Maria and the societies team worked closely with the Hellenic Society for Microbiology to transfer Acta Microbiologica Hellenica over to MDPI to publish on their behalf. The team continue to work closely with the society, but are able to reduce strain on the society and allow the journal to grow internationally via a well-tailored development plan and MDPI marketing strategies.

How long have you been at MDPI, and what was your first role?

I’ve been working for MDPI for four years, since June 2020. My first role was an Assistant Editor for the journal Nutrients.

What is your role within the Societies team?

As a Society Partnerships Specialist, I work closely with the editorial teams of society journals to ensure effective management of the journals. My responsibilities include following up on contract renewals and amendments to existing contracts. My role also includes contacting societies to establish new publishing collaborations, preparing publishing proposals, and more. 

How did you support the Hellenic Society for Microbiology with the publication of their journal?

From participating in the first call with the President of the Hellenic Society for Microbiology to publishing the first issue of Acta Microbiologica Hellenica under MDPI in January 2024, I supported the society at all stages of our collaboration. This involved understanding the society’s needs and expectations, preparing the publishing proposal and the contract, and assisting with the transfer of the journal.

I continue to offer my support to the society and the journal’s editorial team whenever it is needed. Together with the journal’s Managing Editor – Ms. Ashlynn Wang – and the Journal Relationships Specialist – Dr. Marta Colomer Lluch – I had the opportunity to meet in person with society representatives and Editorial Board members in Athens to discuss the journal’s strategy for further development and success. 

What would you like societies to know about Open Access and working with MDPI?

By publishing their journals under the Open Access model, societies can maximise their impact and gain higher visibility, while at the same time advancing science by providing free access to the latest research to all readers. 

At MDPI, flexibility is one of our core principles, and we can adapt our services to meet the needs of each society. We work closely with societies to develop unique journal development plans. This, combined with our adherence to strict publication standards, can help society journals achieve their goals. 

What is the hardest part of your role?

When a society or institute contacts us to propose a publishing collaboration, our first step is to conduct an internal analysis to determine if their journal is the right fit for the MDPI portfolio at the moment. Unfortunately, we cannot always proceed with every publishing proposal we receive. Declining a proposed publishing collaboration is a hard part of the role, but we are always open to reconsidering in the future if circumstances change. 

What is the most rewarding part of your role?

Establishing a new publishing collaboration is the most rewarding part of my role. I understand that every society wants the best for their journal, and it is very rewarding when they trust us with their journal and believe that, with our expertise in Open Access publishing and support, we can help them achieve their goals and further develop their journal. 

Maria Noguera is a Society and Partnership Specialist responsible for multiple services in the team. This includes taking care of the new and existing affiliations and assisting with transfer of journals such as Société Internationale d’Urologie Journal (SIUJ), which published its first Open Access issue on behalf of Société Internationale d’Urologie (SIU) in January 2024.

How long have you been at MDPI, and what was your first role?

Next October will be my 7^th anniversary at MDPI. I started as an Assistant Editor in the journal Genes.

What is your role within the Societies team?

My role includes reaching out to new societies for their publishing needs, replying to and following up on queries to transfer or set up new OA journals with societies, or to affiliate with our journals. Internally, I also write or update guidelines, support our journal editorial offices with their ongoing collaborations with societies, etc.

How did you support Société Internationale d’Urologie (SIU) in setting up their journal?

I collaborated with SIU from the very beginning of the tender process, with online calls and writing a full publishing proposal, to being selected as their publishing partner and supporting the transfer of their journal to MDPI.

What did they enjoy most about the process?

SIU is based in Montreal, and they really liked that MDPI has editors in Canada who are dedicated to their journal. 

What are the benefits of affiliating with an MDPI journal?

An affiliation offers discounts on most of our company services: publication of articles in OA, pre-submission English editing, OA books, OA proceedings, conference organisation, free publication of congress abstracts in the journal, and more. The society may get sponsors for their events, and the journal will be promoted throughout the year and at events as the preferred publication venue for the society members.

What are your responsibilities for affiliations?

I identify the strengths and weaknesses of MDPI’s society affiliations program so we can continue to improve this OA solution for researchers.

How MDPI supports societies

Open science supports the wide dissemination of knowledge and furthers the understanding of science and participation in research. Open Access has been described as the future of scientific publishing; increasing the visibility of research only enhances its potential and inspires future innovation.

MDPI are proud leaders in the Open Access industry and have vast knowledge and expertise publishing in this model. Furthermore, the Society Specialists and team as a whole support a range of societies in their Open Access publishing journey, and they aim to encourage further development of the Open Science movement.

If you would like to read more about the benefits of Open Access please see our recent article here.

And if you enjoyed this article, there is more to come in this series; the next will feature interviews with the leads of the team.