Scientific Publishing Workshop: Navigating Trends, Challenges & Opportunities, 21 August 2025

In collaboration with Taylor’s University and University Kebangsaan Malaysia, MDPI will be holding a workshop designed to empower early-career researchers, postgraduate students, and aspiring authors with essential knowledge and skills in academic publishing.

The workshop will cover key aspects of scholarly communication—from understanding open access publishing to responding to peer reviewers and structuring high-quality manuscripts.

Participants will gain practical insights through interactive skill labs, hear firsthand publishing experiences from established academics, and explore the emerging role of artificial intelligence in academic writing.

As part of the afternoon segment, we are pleased to welcome Prof. Wong Hyuk Nien, from the National University of Singapore, as a guest speaker, who will share his experience publishing in Q1 and Q2 journals.

Date: 21 August 2025
Time: 9:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Venue: Taylor’s University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Schedule:

Speaker	Program and Content	Time
	Registration	9:30–10:00 a.m.
	Opening Address by Session Chair/Welcome Message	10:00–10:05 a.m.
Dr. Colin Wee	MDPI and Open Access, Journals Introduction This session provides an introduction to MDPI, both globally and within Singapore, and the Open Access publishing model, and offers a concise overview of MDPI’s editorial process, including peer-review and ethical practices. Reasons for Rejection at Pre-Check Participants will explore the most common reasons manuscripts are rejected during the pre-check stage. This session will provide actionable advice on preparing submissions, including adhering to author guidelines, checking for ethical compliance, and ensuring the manuscript aligns with the journal’s objectives. Q&A Session	10:05–10:35 a.m.
Dr. Colin Wee	How to Respond to Peer Reviewers This session will guide authors on effectively addressing major and minor revision comments from peer reviewers. Participants will learn how to make the necessary adjustments to their manuscripts while ensuring that all feedback is adequately addressed. By mastering this process, authors can improve their chances of successful publication. Q&A Session	10:35–11:15 a.m.
Dr. Lee Wei Thye	How to Write and Structure an Academic Paper Developed by MDPI’s Author Services team, this section provides effective strategies for crafting clear, coherent manuscripts, improving logical flow, readability, and impactful communication with reviewers and readers. Q&A Session Skill Lab: Reviewer Says, You Respond In “Reviewer Says, You Respond,” participants will practice crafting professional responses to sample peer-reviewer comments. They will learn to address feedback, provide clear rebuttals, and revise manuscripts while maintaining a collaborative tone. Skill Lab: Catchy Yet Clear – Title-Crafting Challenge Participants will practice writing concise, informative, and engaging research paper titles that reflect the study’s content and attract potential readers.	11:15–12:30 p.m.
	Lunch Break	12:30–2:00 p.m.
	Overview Presentation and Panel Discussion The Application of AI in Academic Writing: - Overview Presentation: Artificial Intelligence in the Scientific Publishing Industry by MDPI; - Panel Discussion.	2:00–2:45 p.m.
Dr. Wong Nyuk Hien	Experience Sharing by Professor Wong: Publishing Experience in Q1 and Q2 journals.	2:45–3:15 p.m.
	Closing Remarks	3:15–3:30 p.m.
	Tea Break	3:30–4:00 p.m.

Invited Speaker:

Dr. Wong Nyuk Hien is currently working as a Professor at the Department of the Built Environment, College of Design and Engineering (CDE), National University of Singapore, Singapore. He completed his PhD in building performance and diagnostics from Carnegie Mellon University, USA, in 1998. He has served as Vice Dean of the College of CDE/SDE, in charge of research and graduate students.
Prof. Wong has carried out extensive research on the Urban Heat Island effect in Singapore, and explored the various mitigation measures, such as the effective utilization of urban greenery and cool roof materials. Prof. Wong has received honors including the Local Merit Scholarship, Public Service Commission, Singapore, Building Science Gold Medal, National University of Singapore, NUS Excellent Teachers award, and the Excellent Teachers award three times since AY2003/2004. He also supervised a number of graduate students. He has published more than 200 research articles in journals and contributed to 21 books/monographs as author/co-author. He is a member of many national and international advisory boards and editorial boards. He has also delivered a number of presentations at scholarly meetings/ workshops.

MDPI speakers:

Dr. Wei Thye Lee earned his PhD from the National University of Singapore (NUS), where his research focused on experimental therapeutics in pre-clinical models of neurodegenerative diseases. He has published in many Scopus- and Web of Science (WOS)-indexed journals throughout his academic career. At MDPI, he has held various editorial roles, including Assistant Editor, Publishing Specialist, and Special Issue Editor. He is currently serving as the Institutional Partnership Manager for MDPI, liaising with institutions across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. 

Dr. Colin Wee joined MDPI in October 2021 as the Publishing Specialist for the “Social Sciences” portfolio of journals. He holds positions as Publishing Manager for multiple journals, Journal Relations Lead, and a Scientific Review Board Member.
He has a liberal arts undergraduate education in psychology and neuroscience, graduating with honors from Grinnell College, Iowa. He received his PhD in industrial–organizational psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research focused on vocational interest and psychometrics. He has studied in Singapore, the UK, Japan, and the USA.