Opening Thoughts

Reflecting on 2024: Celebrating Our Progress and People

As we reflect on the year gone by, I’m proud and thankful for what we’ve accomplished together. This has been a year of growth, learning, and resilience, all of which have shaped MDPI’s journey. I would like to thank each of our employees for their dedication, hard work, and commitment to advancing open access (OA) publishing.

Our growth is evident: from about 5,900 colleagues at the end of 2023 to over 6,650 today, our global MDPI community continues to expand. We expanded our global operations with a new office in Seoul, South Korea, and celebrated a record-breaking year with 60 MDPI journals newly indexed in the Web of Science and 37 MDPI journals accepted into Scopus. As at 30 December, 2024, we publish 457 journals, of which 448 are peer-reviewed and 9 dedicated to academic conference outputs. Of these, 306 are indexed in Scopus, 298 in the Web of Science, and 90 in PubMed.

Looking for a new role in 2025? We have a variety of roles currently open!

Yet, growth never comes without its challenges. This year, we faced setbacks, including the removal of the Journal of Personalized Medicine from the Web of Science due to content relevance concerns. Our editorial and research integrity teams are actively addressing these issues, and we aim to reapply for indexation in December 2026. On another front, the decision by JUFO, The Finnish Publication Forum, to downgrade many MDPI journals presented a challenge. However, we are engaging with the Finnish research community and our editorial boards to provide scientific data supporting a reevaluation of MDPI journals in alignment with Finland’s national open access policies.

These examples remind us that challenges are part of our journey. What defines us is how we respond, by learning, adapting, and improving our practices and operations.

On the partnerships front, we achieved a landmark national open access agreement with over 100 German universities, effective 1 January 2025, bringing our total of Institutional Open Access Program (IOAP) partners to over 950. These achievements reflect not just our ambition but also the trust placed in MDPI by our collaborators worldwide.

Amidst growth and change, one constant remains: the people of MDPI. This year, I had the privilege of representing MDPI at important meetings and conferences from Beijing to Krakow, while visiting many of our offices, from Tokyo and Cluj to Manchester and Toronto. The highlight of my year has been meeting and connecting with so many of you.

“MDPI thrives because of community and collaboration”

When asked what makes MDPI a great place to work, my answer is simple: It’s the people. Our authors frequently praise the support and professionalism of our editorial staff. That same care extends inward, reflected in the friendships and collaborations we regularly nurture with our colleagues. MDPI thrives because of the community and collaboration that drives us forward.

As the African proverb states, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” I believe MDPI embodies both, being speedy in our daily operations and united in our purpose of promoting open access publishing.

Looking ahead to 2025, let us continue building a culture of care and support for one another, take pride in our work, and strive to improve all that we do. Thank you for making 2024 a special year, and I look forward to what we can achieve together in 2025.

PS: I look forward to sharing more about our people and the achievements of the past year in the 2024 Annual Report.

Impactful Research

685 MDPI Editors Named Highly Cited Researchers in 2024

I’m excited to celebrate the achievements of 685 Editorial Board Members (EBMs) from our journals, representing 39 countries and territories, who have been named Highly Cited Researchers for 2024 by Clarivate. This prestigious recognition highlights their scientific contributions, which transcend academic boundaries to drive progress in global knowledge, sustainability, security, and well-being.

Here, you’ll find the list of MDPI’s EBMs who have been recognized this year.

Clarivate’s annual Highly Cited Researcher™ list identifies the most influential scientists of the past decade – those whose work has made a profound and far-reaching impact across numerous scientific and social science disciplines. To be included on this list is no small feat. These researchers’ impactful papers rank among the top 1% by citations in one or more of the 21 fields analyzed within the “Essential Science Indicators,” positioning them as leaders in their domains.

As Clarivate notes, “Highly Cited Researchers have demonstrated significant and broad influence in their field(s) of research.” In 2024, a total of 6,886 Highly Cited Researcher designations were awarded to 6,636 individuals globally.

I extend my congratulations to all of MDPI’s EBMs who have achieved this milestone. Their dedication and excellence inspire us all and exemplify the high standards we uphold as a publisher. Congratulations to each of them for this incredible accomplishment and for their ongoing contributions to advancing knowledge in their fields.

Inside MDPI

How MDPI / Open Access Supports Societies

MDPI actively supports societies through the launch of new journals, the acquisition of established journals, and the transfer of society journals from other publishers. You can submit your proposal here.

Over the past 13 years, we have collaborated with over 190 learned societies and organizations. These partnerships range from affiliations with one or more of our journals to publishing journals on behalf of our partners.

Learn about how MDPI / Open Access Supports Societies.

In this section I highlight our Societies team, whose responsibilities include establishing new OA journals on behalf of societies and institutions, publishing an existing OA journal with MDPI or transitioning a subscription journal to an OA model, and establishing affiliations between societies and MDPI journals.

If you would like to learn more about these services, please see the Societies website.

The Societies team is led by Dr. Carla Aloè, Head of Societies and Acquisition, and her Deputy Manager, Dr. Clàudia Aunós. MDPI collaborates with a wide range of societies through various partnerships. For a complete list of collaborating societies and society journals, please visit the Societies website.

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

I joined MDPI in September 2020 as an Associate Publisher and Scientific Officer, overseeing the Arts, Humanities, and Social Science journals. In July 2022, I took on the oversight of the Society and Acquisition team. 

Do you think that perceptions of Open Access are generally accurate?

Far from it: there are in fact many misconceptions surrounding the way Open Access works and the benefits it has to offer. A common misconception is that OA journals are poor quality, which is entirely untrue. Many of our journals are included in major indexing databases, and all of them are endorsed by prominent associations and committees such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Association of Scientific, Technical, and Medical Publishers (STM), and the Open Access Scholarly Publication Association (OASPA). We uphold a rigorous peer-review process, adhere to strict ethical standards, and rely on high-profile editorial boards. 

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

I’ve been at MDPI for almost seven years now. I started as an Assistant Editor but was quickly promoted to work with societies.

What is the most common question you get asked about the services that the Societies team provides?

For societies with a standard number of members (less than 500), the most common inquiry is about how much the publishing services we offer cost. One of the great things about our publishing services is that they are free of any burden cost to the society, regardless of the type of non-profit organization.  

For bigger non-profit organizations, it is more about what benefits they can get for their members and ensuring that their journals are in good hands.

Either way, the goal is the same: to listen to the demands of the market, be flexible, and help our partners achieve healthy and positive development of their journals.

Read more:

• Creating an Open Access Journal for your Society
• Meet the Team: Societies Leadership
• Meet the Team: Interview with Societies Specialists

Coming Together for Science

2024 MDPI Conference Summary

Throughout 2024, the MDPI Conference Team connected with scientific communities by organizing nine in-person events and 26 virtual conferences. In order to support the need for our growing events, we expanded this team to a total of 37 people across all offices, including 18 members in Asia-Pacific and 20 in the EU and North America.

The nine large-scale in-person conferences organized brought together leading minds across diverse disciplines, including our conferences on Viruses, Molecules, Polymers, Materials, Non-Coding RNA, Pharmaceuticals, and Sensors. These events strengthened synergies with the scientific community, actively promoting our journals and the latest research published within their respective fields. These achievements highlight our Conference Team’s dedication to creating meaningful and memorable events in the academic field.

2024 Event Highlights

Viruses 2024, the 5th edition of the conference series, hosted influential keynote speeches from Nobel Prize laureate Dr. Charles M. Rice and ‘Distinguished Senior Virologist’ Prof. Luis Enjuanes. The event attracted 240 attendees from around the globe. With 47 talks and nearly 130 poster presentations, the conference explored the latest developments in viral pathogenesis and immune responses across six engaging sessions.

Molecules 2024, the fourth edition of this conference series, highlighted the impact of emerging drug modalities on drug discovery. The event brought together over 100 attendees from 22 countries and featured more than 80 submissions organized into six sessions. The program included talks by 12 invited speakers from Europe, Asia and the United States. An impressive 97% of attendees rated the conference as ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good.’

Polymers 2024, attracted over 300 attendees from 22 countries and featured 259 accepted abstracts. Focusing on green polymer chemistry and the use of bioresources, the conference highlighted advancements in the synthesis of biobased and biodegradable polymers. Engaging lectures by three keynote speakers and 12 invited speakers, coupled with dynamic discussions, led 94% of attendees to rate the conference as ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good.’

A high-profile summit in Toronto was organized by the team, which expanded our global reach and showcased our capacity to deliver impactful events in our different offices. Sixteen EiC and seven EBMs joined our event, and with a 100% rate of Excellent/Good, over 90% of them said they are likely to attend our next edition.

The 1st International Conference on AI Sensors & The 10th International Symposium on Sensor Science successfully gathered about 400 participants onsite. Three hundred and fifty-five abstracts were accepted, with 772 authors from 28 countries. Across the four-day program, there were 296 talks delivered and 66 posters displayed.

The 2nd Sustainable Publishing Forum was successfully held in Beijing, China, with around 120 attendees from local publishers, editorial staff from local university presses, librarians, etc. The event is focused on promoting open science, maintaining research integrity and fulfilling social responsibility.

ICM 2024, the 5th International Conference on Materials, brought together scientists, researchers and industry leaders to explore advancements in materials characterization, processing and manufacturing. Topics ranged from nanotechnology and biomaterials to energy materials and AI-driven research. With 62 attendees from 26 different countries, the program featured 34 talks and 18 posters, fostering collaboration and innovation over 2.5 days.

The second edition of ncRNA 2024 welcomed 104 attendees from 30 countries, 71% of them being women. Two keynote speakers, Prof. Ling-Ling Chen and Prof. Mauro Giacca, shared insights drawn from over 10 years of experience. Prof. Giacca's groundbreaking work promises advances in curative therapies for heart failure, while Prof. Chen’s team continues to lead the development of the ncRNA field. High participant engagement generated valuable topics for future editions, and 96% of attendees rated the conference as ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’.

Pharmaceuticals 2024, with its eight sessions, covered the newest technologies and the research areas of medicinal chemistry, natural products, organic synthesis, radiopharmaceuticals, pharmacology, toxicology, and biomolecular and glycosciences, among others. The conference featured three plenary and eight invited speakers, comprising esteemed scholars from eight different countries of Europe, and welcomed 64 participants from 28 different countries. Ninety-one percent of the attendees rated the conference as ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’, highlighting the outstanding organzation of the event.

In 2024, we organized 26 virtual events with an average submission number of 158 abstracts per event, and an average registration number of 491 per event. Compared with the last edition, we saw a 42.2% growth of accepted abstract submissions.

The year 2024 marked a change in the strategy of our conference team, prioritizing the improvement of the communication and collaboration within our European and Asia-Pacific teams and creating stronger teamwork to elevate the quality and impact of MDPI events.

Scheduled Events in 2025

• Smart Sustainable Cities 2025: Pioneering Novel Frontiers for Green Urban Living: 5–7 Mar 2025, online.
• International Conference on Advanced Remote Sensing (ICARS 2025): 26–28 Mar 2025, Barcelona, Spain.
• Plants 2025: From Seeds to Food Security: 31 Mar–2 Apr 2025, Barcelona, Spain.
• Symmetry 2025 - The 5th International Conference on Symmetry: 16–19 May 2025, Hangzhou, China.
• The 2nd International Conference on AI Sensors and Transducers: 29 Jul–3 Aug 2025, Bangkok, Thailand.
• The 5th International Symposium on Frontiers in Molecular Science: 26–29 Aug 2025, Kyoto, Japan.
• The 11th World Sustainability Forum: Sustainable and Resilient Cities: 2–3 Oct 2025, Barcelona, Spain.
• The Cancers 2025 and Sensors 2025 websites will soon be made public.

Closing Thoughts

Over 100 German Universities Partner with MDPI in New National Agreement  

I am pleased to share some exciting end-of-year news: MDPI has reached a major milestone by signing a publishing agreement with over 100 German universities and research institutions! Negotiated by ZB MED - Informationszentrum Lebenswissenschaften, the agreement came into effect on 1 January 2025 and will run until the end of 2026.

This new cooperation aims to make scientific Gold Open Access publishing more affordable and less administratively burdensome for researchers in Germany.

Learn more, here.

“Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this agreement a reality.”

Why is this important?

As Peter Roth, MDPI Head of Publishing, noted:

“MDPI can look back on over a decade of successful partnerships with German research institutions. This agreement marks another milestone in our collaboration with the German scientific community.” 

Adrian Stefan Zamfir, Institutional Partnership Manager for the DACH region, added:

“We are delighted that this agreement will give even more researchers in Germany access to our tried-and-tested and reliable publication platform” 

Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this agreement a reality. This milestone reinforces MDPI as a trusted leader in advancing open access and supporting researchers worldwide.

Opening Thoughts

MDPI’s First UK Summit Held in Manchester

On 29 November, we hosted our first annual MDPI UK Summit, bringing together over 30 Chief Editors and Editorial Board Members (EBMs) to discuss MDPI’s mission, achievements, and collaborations in the UK.

Throughout the day we had talks from several members of MDPI, roundtable discussions on the peer-review process and upholding research integrity, and an engaging presentation from the Editor-in-Chief (EiC) of MDPI journal Mathematics, Francisco Chiclana, about his involvement with the Research Excellence Framework.

“This was a great first summit for MDPI UK and received excellent feedback”

 In the following I highlight some of the sessions and the discussion topics covered in each session.

Session 1: Opening Speech and Introduction to MDPI

Session 2: MDPI and the Research Excellence Framework (REF)
Prof. Francisco Chiclana (EiC of Mathematics) highlighted MDPI’s role in REF, its purpose, and future directions.

Session 3: Editorial Process, Ethics, and Research Integrity
Dr. Giulia Stefenelli presented on the various editorial roles and responsibilities, quality metrics, and procedures for dealing with misconduct. The Q&A centred on AI in publishing, institutional roles in research integrity, and better data management practices.

Session 4: Institutional Open Access Program (IOAP)
Becky Castellon presented on IOAP benefits, including MDPI’s partnership with JISC, which includes more than 60 UK institutions, and highlighted the advantages of pure OA over transformative agreements.

Session 5: Round Table Discussion
Colleagues from our MDPI Manchester office Jaime Anderson and Dr. Michael O’Sullivan, along with colleagues from our Basel office Damaris Critchlow and Giulia Stefenelli, discussed innovations in peer review, challenges in maintaining scientific integrity, and future solutions.

Session 6: MDPI PR and the Voice of the Customer
I recapped our customer satisfaction drivers, including speed and editorial support. I also spoke about tackling misinformation about OA and MDPI in general, and outlined a way forward for us all to participate in advocating for open science.

This was a great first summit for MDPI UK and received excellent feedback from our EiCs, SEiCs, and EBMs. A BIG thank-you to our Manchester team (pictured below) and everyone else involved in organizing this event. Their hard work and dedication are much appreciated!

Impactful Research

MDPI and UK Publications

The UK is an important market for MDPI, ranking ninth in total submissions to MDPI and eighth in total MDPI publications, with over 72,200 publications to date. As at October 2024, there were more than 3,600 EBMs from the UK, 48% of whom have an H-index above 26. We also have 46 EiCs, and 63 SEiCs in the UK, some of whom joined us in Manchester for the UK Summit.

The UK is a strong advocate of OA publishing, with nearly three quarters of all articles in 2023 published on open access platforms. The country enjoys a large academic market, producing high-quality papers, and is home to some of the world’s top universities. Among MDPI’s 825 IOAP agreements, over 60 of these are in the UK, facilitated through our partnership with JISC.

“The UK is a strong advocate of OA publishing”

 Visit to MDPI’s Manchester Office

Last week, I visited our Manchester office to see the expanding office space, connect with our staff, and present at the MDPI UK Summit held in Manchester.

Throughout the day, I met with various teams to better understand their work and discuss their future development plans in greater depth. Hearing from group leads about the progress we have made and the challenges we face offered many valuable insights. I also had the chance to connect personally with members of the content team. It’s great to see how this young and ambitious team is coming together.

Inside MDPI

Basel Job Fair

In November, the HR team from our Basel office connected with over 300 young professionals at the Basel Job Fair 2024. This is my biased opinion, of course, but we had the best branded booth and merchandise, which drew a lot of attention from young talent wanting to learn about current and future job opportunities at MDPI.

Our HR team also helped review CVs on the spot, providing advice on how to improve them and making a positive impression on the future workforce in Basel.

This is a reminder that MDPI is not only focused on supporting young researchers but that we also recruit and develop young talent. We have seen MDPI HR do this really well throughout all of our offices, from Asia Pacific to Europe and North America.

HR plays an important role in our growing company, helping us meet our recruitment targets as well as providing support for local teams, guidance on management and best practices, a safe space for employees, and brand recognition for MDPI, among many other things.

“MDPI is not only focused on supporting young researchers: we also recruit and develop young talent”

This is a quick appreciation post to all HR staff working to support MDPI and our colleagues, cultivating talent and supporting careers at every stage. Thanks HR staff, keep up the great work!

Coming Together for Science

Pharmaceuticals 2024 – Recent Advances in Pharmaceutical Sciences Towards a Healthy Life (The 20^th Anniversary)

I am pleased to share that the Pharmaceuticals 2024 – Recent Advances in Pharmaceutical Sciences Towards a Healthy Life took place from 27 to 29 November 2024 in Barcelona, Spain. It was chaired by Prof. Dr. Amelia Pilar Rauter from the Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal; Dr. Alfredo Berzal Herranz from Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina López-Neyra (IPBLN) CSIC, Spain; and Prof. Dr. Mary Jane Meegan from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

The conference took place in Casa Convalescència, a part of the Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site. The three-day event included three plenary sessions and eight invited speakers, from eight countries, and 29 selected talks. Of the presentations on site, there were 32 posters and 29 oral presentations.

The main goal of the ‘Pharmaceuticals 2024’ international conference was to cover the newest technologies and research areas including medicinal chemistry, natural products, organic synthesis, radiopharmaceuticals, pharmacology, toxicology, and biomolecular and glycosciences, in a meeting that brought together experts to present their latest findings on combatting infection, inflammation, pain, and neurodegeneration, to mention just a few of the topics that were discussed.

“The main goal of ‘Pharmaceuticals 2024’ was to cover the newest technologies and research areas”

20^th Anniversary of Pharmaceuticals

The year 2024 marks the 20^th anniversary of Pharmaceuticals – a journal dedicated to medicinal chemistry and related drug sciences, which is published monthly online by MDPI. To honour this milestone, we are reflecting on our past accomplishments and embarking on an exciting new chapter. This celebration is also one of the reasons why we organized the conference Pharmaceuticals 2024. With an Impact Factor of 4.3 and a CiteScore of 6.1, the journal is covered in Scopus, SCIE (Web of Science), PubMed, PMC, Embase, CAPlus/SciFinder, and other databases. Pharmaceuticals has published over 6,000 papers from more than 37,000 authors. More than 10,000 reviewers have reviewed for it at least once.

20^th Anniversary of Pharmaceuticals: The Video

This video captures the experiences of the conference chairs, honorary guests and committee members of the conference.

Thank you to our partnering societies

A special thank-you is due to our partnering societies the Spanish Society Of Medicinal Chemistry (SEQT) and the Spanish Society For Biochemistry And Molecular Biology (SEBBM) for their support of the Pharmaceuticals 2024 conference. I am also pleased to report that we presented two awards, sponsored by the journal Pharmaceuticals, including the Best Presentation Award and the Best Oral Presentation Award, recognizing the contributions of our participants.

Closing Thoughts

Presenting at the 4^th Central European Technology Forum

I visited Krakow, Poland in November to participate in the 4^th Central European Technology Forum (CETEF’24), which took place on 18 and 19 November.

CETEF is an international conference that has been jointly organized since 2014 by the Polish Chamber of Commerce for Advanced Technologies (IZTECH) and the Polish Federation of Engineering Associations, with the support of the European Parliament and the European Commission, in cooperation with universities, research institutes and the high-tech industry. The 2024 event focused on presentation to advance the European science and technology agenda for 2025–2030.

Below is a photo with the President of the Polish Chamber of Commerce conference (centre), along with MDPI colleagues Giulia Stefenelli, Weronika Gorka-Kumik, and Igor Matic (left to right).

“This year’s event focused on ideas and proposals to advance the European science and technology agenda for 2025–2030”