MDPI INSIGHTS: The CEO’s Letter #37 - Canada Summit, Sciforum Relaunch, 30 Years of Impactful Research & ISPRS 2026

Opening Thoughts

Reflections from the MDPI Canada Summit 2026 in Toronto (9–10 July)

As part of this year’s MDPI Summit events, we were delighted to host Editors-in-Chief (EiCs) and Editorial Board Members (EBMs) in Toronto for the MDPI Canada Summit 2026 this July.

Across the two days, we presented on topics including research integrity, editorial leadership, artificial intelligence, peer review, and the evolving role of the EiC. More importantly, the Summit created space for feedback and conversations with the academic community: these engagements continue play and important role in shaping how MDPI develops its journals and services.

Why Canada?

Canada has become one of the world’s leading Open Access (OA) nations. In 2025, 68% of Canadian research publications were published OA, with more than 73,000 OA articles produced during the year. Over the past five years alone, Canadian researchers have published more than 526,000 scholarly articles, showing both the scale and quality of Canadian research.

MDPI Toronto Office

“Canada has become one of the world’s leading Open Access nations”

Since opening in 2019, our Toronto office has grown to more than 85 colleagues supporting editorial operations, research integrity, marketing, societies, conferences, indexing, author services, and many other functions across North America. It was great to spend time with the team, see first-hand the energy and enthusiasm they bring to their work, and recognize the significant role they play in building relationships with the Canadian research community and delivering events such as this Summit.

MDPI and Canada

Today, Canada is an important part of the MDPI community:

More than 53,800 articles from Canadian institutions published with MDPI since 1996
More than 5,800 MDPI publications from Canadian researchers in 2025
Nearly 1,900 Canadian Editorial Board Members, including 24 Editors-in-Chief; 49 Section Editors-in-Chief
More than 30 Institutional Open Access Partnerships (IOAP) with universities across Canada

“The academic community is at the center of everything we do”

These numbers reflect the long-term partnerships with researchers, reviewers, editors, and institutions who continue to place their trust in MDPI.

Summit Program

Throughout the Summit, we presented and discussed topics against the following agenda:

MDPI at 30: Introduction, Reflections and the Road Ahead – Stefan Tochev (CEO)
Engagement with Academic Community and Society Partnerships – Karen Irwin (Associate Editorial Engagement Manager) and Carla Aloè (Head of Societies and Acquisition)
Latest Developments in the Editorial Process – Summer Huggard (Operations Manager)
Research Integrity and Publication Ethics – Renato Merki (Research Integrity Specialist)
AI and Technology in Publishing – Dr. Barnaby Crook (Regional Engagement Editor)
Panel Discussion – Bob Vrooman (Head of Business Development / Operations Manager, USA), Summer Huggard, Renato Merki, and myself

These presentations reinforce something we often say at MDPI: The academic community is at the center of everything we do. Each session concluded with a Q&A, allowing for discussions throughout the Summit to engage directly with our EiCs and EBMs.

Further Reading

I also had the opportunity to be interviewed by University Affairs about the evolving landscape of scholarly publishing, Open Access, and the importance of engaging with the research community. If you’re interested, you can read the interview in:

Thank You

As OA continues to grow around the world, events such as the MDPI Canada Summit remind us of the importance of meeting with our academic community in person. Listening to feedback, exchanging ideas, and building relationships are essential to ensuring that MDPI continues to evolve alongside the researchers, editors, reviewers, and institutions we serve.

Impactful Research

Five Journals, Five Different Stories of Success

Each year, the release of the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) provides an opportunity to look at the progress of our journal portfolio and, more importantly, the achievements of the research communities behind it.

A recent MDPI Blog article from Tommy Lax (Content Specialist, MDPI) highlights five journals whose 2025 Journal Impact Factor results show that success can take many forms – from achieving a first Impact Factor, to steady long-term growth, to leadership within highly competitive disciplines.

The featured journals include:

Machine Learning & Knowledge Extraction (MAKE) – Among the 330 MDPI journals which received an Impact Factor in 2025, MAKE (ISSN 2504-4990) holds the accolade of having the highest rating of 8.4. The journal, which provides an advanced forum for the study of machine learning and its applications, is placed in Q1 for three subject categories: Computer science, artificial intelligence; Computer science, interdisciplinary applications; and Engineering, electrical & electronic.
Antioxidants – Continuing its strong position across multiple scientific disciplines, Antioxidants (ISSN 2076-3921) was awarded an exceptional Impact Factor of 8.2. In addition, the journal was placed in Q1 in three subject categories: Biochemistry & molecular biology; Chemistry, medicinal; and Food science & technology.
Biomass – This year, Biomass (ISSN 2673-8783) was recognized in the JCR for the first time, with a strong debut Impact Factor of 6.7. What makes this achievement even more impressive is the journal’s placement in Q1 of the category Engineering, chemical.
Analytica – Remaining with the theme of growth, Analytica (ISSN 2673-4532), which provides an advanced forum for all aspects of fundamental and applied analytical chemistry, recorded one of the largest year-on-year increases in Journal Impact Factor, with a 7.4 – an astounding 3.8-point increase from its 2024 rating of 3.6.
Batteries – Indexed in SCIE, Batteries (ISSN 2313-0105) received an updated Impact Factor of 6.3 this year, representing an increase of 1.5 versus last year, demonstrating consistent growth and increasing visibility over several years.

While citation metrics provide one perspective on journal performance, they tell only part of the story. Every milestone reflects the dedication of Editors-in-Chief, Editorial Board Members, reviewers, authors, and colleagues across MDPI who work together to uphold rigorous editorial standards and support high-quality research.

As a signatory of the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), MDPI supports a balanced approach to research evaluation. Journal-level metrics should be viewed alongside article-level indicators and the broader scientific and societal impact of published research.

Thank you to everyone whose commitment continues to strengthen our journals and advance Open Access across the global research community.

Inside MDPI

Building Better Tools for the Research Community: The Relaunch of Sciforum

Innovation at MDPI extends beyond journals. Over the past decade, we have continued to invest in products that support researchers, conference organizers, editors, reviewers, and institutions throughout the research lifecycle. As part of this ongoing investment, our Product and Engineering teams have been modernizing several of MDPI’s digital platforms. One important milestone in that journey is the relaunch of Sciforum, our conference management platform.

Rather than simply updating an existing system, our product and engineering teams have rebuilt Sciforum, using a modern architecture designed to improve the user experience, support future growth, and continue to strengthen our position in the conference management market.

“Scalable technology is essential to delivering a high-quality experience”

Why We Rebuilt Sciforum

Technology must continue evolving alongside the needs of our users. The previous platform had served MDPI well for many years but had become difficult to extend and maintain. The new platform introduces a modular architecture that enables faster development, more flexibility, and a scalable foundation for future work.

Major improvements include:

Simplified submission workflows
Role-based dashboards
A modern website builder
Flexible pricing options
Permanent data hosting
A scalable architecture for future development

Supporting Our Conference Community

Sciforum is more than a software platform: it supports researchers, conference organizers, reviewers, speakers, and attendees by helping them organize, participate in, and share scientific meetings more efficiently. As MDPI continues to expand its conference activities worldwide, investing in modern, scalable technology is essential to delivering a high-quality experience for both our external partners and our internal teams.

Looking Ahead

The relaunch represents the beginning Sciforum’s next chapter. Planned improvements include: the Program Builder, Communication Hub, expanded payment options, Zoom integration, and a mobile application. These will continue to enhance the platform over the coming months.

Coming Together for Science

Highlights from ISPRS Congress 2026 – Toronto, Canada

In early July, I had the pleasure of attending the XXV ISPRS Congress in Toronto, one of the world’s leading gatherings for the geospatial and remote sensing research community. It was a great opportunity to meet researchers, editors, society leaders, and collaborators, while gaining insights into some of the latest developments in geospatial science and technology.

Over several days, I had the privilege of presenting the Jack Dangermond Award; speaking about MDPI’s approach to AI in publishing and our 30-year journey in Open Access publishing; participating in Editorial Board meetings; and engaging with members of the ISPRS community.

Below is a summary of these activities:

Celebrating excellence in research

One of the highlights of the week was presenting the Jack Dangermond Award for the best paper published in the ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information (IJGI). Sponsored by MDPI and ESRI, the award recognizes an outstanding paper published over a four-year period and includes an ISPRS certificate together with a USD 10,000 prize.

Awards such as these remind us that journals are much more than publication platforms: they celebrate research that advances knowledge, inspires future work, and delivers meaningful impact for both science and society.

Presentations at ISPRS

I also had the pleasure to give two presentations during the congress:

1. The AI Revolution in Publishing: Challenges, Innovations, and MDPI’s Vision

The development of AI continues to transform scholarly publishing. During this session, I shared how MDPI is integrating AI responsibly, not to replace editorial judgement or peer review, but to support our staff by improving efficiency while maintaining scientific quality and research integrity.

2. MDPI: 30 Years of Open Access Publishing

I also had the opportunity to share MDP’s 30-year journey from a small publishing initiative to becoming a global Open Access publisher serving millions of researchers worldwide. As part of this session, my colleague Carla Aloè (Head of Societies and Acquisitions) introduced the ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information (IJGI), sharing its development and contribution to the geospatial research community.

Meeting with Our Editorial Boards

Another rewarding aspect of the congress was meeting with the Editorial Boards of two of our journals:

Remote Sensing
ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information

These discussions went beyond journal metrics. We heard ideas about editorial quality and emerging research areas, and we discussed reviewer engagement, diversity within editorial boards, and how journals can continue serving their communities for the future. These conversations are a great way to connect directly to the scientists who help shape our journals.

“One of our core missions has always been to make high-quality research openly accessible”

Partnerships matter

Scientific publishing is built on collaboration. Throughout the congress, our team welcomed researchers to the MDPI booth, met with authors and editors, and discussed opportunities for collaboration across our journals and society partnerships.

Special thanks to our MDPI colleagues who were present throughout the ISPRS congress supporting our Editorial Board meetings and the MDPI booth: Andy Tran, Carla Aloè, Carlo Cunanan, Diana Ribeiro Tosato, and Elena Duan.

Thank you to ISPRS for organizing this congress, to the researchers who shared their work, to our Editorial Board members, and to MDPI colleagues whose dedication continues to shape the journals and communities we support.

Closing Thoughts

Insights Into 30 Years of Impactful MDPI Research

As we celebrate 30 years of MDPI, it’s worth reflecting on the impact that the research we publish has on society. One of our core missions has always been to make high-quality research openly accessible so that it can inform new discoveries, public policy, education and innovation around the world.

A recent article on the MDPI Blog highlights several examples of MDPI publications that have gone beyond academic citations to help inform governments, international organizations and public policy discussions.

Research Creating Real-World Impact

The MDPI blog article features research that has contributed to topics including:

protecting the Amazon rainforest through satellite mapping
understanding climate change and urban heat inequality
encouraging more young women to pursue STEM careers
tackling obesity through healthier food environments
shaping sustainable urban planning through the “15-minute city” concept

These examples remind us that publishing research is not only about producing articles: it is about helping knowledge reach the people who can use it to improve lives and address global challenges.

Thirty Years of Open Access

MDPI’s 30^th Anniversary is also an opportunity to recognize the collective contribution of everyone across MDPI. Every manuscript processed, every review coordinated, every system developed, every conference organized, every partnership established and every article published contributes to a much larger purpose: helping scientific knowledge move further and faster.

You can explore the full article here: 30 Years of Impactful MDPI Research

You can also visit our 30th Anniversary page to learn more about MDPI’s journey over the past three decades.