MDPI INSIGHTS: The CEO's Letter #28 - WSF11, Nobel Laureates, Proofig AI, Romania Summit, STM and FBF

Opening Thoughts

Highlights from the 11th World Sustainability Forum in Barcelona

I’m pleased to share some highlights from the 11th World Sustainability Forum (WSF 11), held in Barcelona on 2–3 October 2025 under the theme Sustainable and Resilient Cities.

Why WSF matters

The WSF series is a flagship initiative for MDPI and is supported by the MDPI Sustainability Foundation. It serves as a transdisciplinary platform for researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders to engage on sustainability challenges. WSF is now held annually as part of our commitment to maintain momentum in the sustainability discourse.

This year’s Barcelona edition focused on urban resilience, landscape design, and social community impact in the sustainability space. Over 48 hours of sessions, we brought together leading minds across disciplines to translate vision into practice. With participants from 53 countries across all continents, WSF 11 was truly global in scope.

“WSF is now held annually as part of our commitment to maintain momentum in the sustainability discourse”

What made WSF 11 especially successful (from my vantage point) was the level of positive engagement with our participants. Chief editors, researchers, and attendees repeatedly told me how professionally executed the event was, highlighting the high energy, logistical smoothness and quality of MDPI’s event management. That kind of recognition from peers really builds our reputation as more than just a publisher, but as a convener of meaningful scientific dialogue.

Our conferences are a form of experiential marketing as they create memorable and immersive connections between a brand and attendees. These positive associations build promotion and brand loyalty, ultimately impacting the MDPI’s trust and reputation for the better.

WSF 11: By the numbers

Here’s a quick snapshot of WSF 11’s scale and reach:

• 181 registrations across global participants.
• 8 keynote speakers and 5 invited speakers.
• 144 abstracts accepted (over 355 submitted), resulting in 75 short talks and 69 posters.
• 53 countries were represented across all continents, making it a truly international event.
• First time that we ran parallel sessions for WSF (an ambitious program).
• A dedicated awards ceremony to honour outstanding sustainability research: World Sustainability Award (WSA) x 2 winners, and Emerging Sustainability Leader Award (ESLA) x 3 winners.

Interviews with our World Sustainability Award Winners

One of the most rewarding parts of WSF is recognizing researchers whose work advances sustainability in powerful ways. In our Blog series, Daniella Maritan-Thomson (Content Specialist, MDPI) interviewed the two winners of the World Sustainability Award, Professor Dr. Stuart Pimm and Dr. Abdelbagi M. Ismail, who offered insights to the human side of sustainability research, the people behind the data, and the stories behind the science.

	Prof. Stuart Pimm, whose decades of conservation work make him a leader in biodiversity preservation, reflected on his WSF Award experience and research in this interview: [Interview: Prof Stuart Pimm]
	Dr. Abdelbagi M. Ismail, an expert in crop improvement and winner of the WSF Award, shares his journey and perspectives here: [Interview: Dr Abdelbagi M. Ismail]

“Our conferences create memorable and immersive connections”

Emerging Sustainability Leader Award winners

Stefan Tochev (CEO, MDPI), Prof. Dr. Vhahangwele Masindi, Dr. Katya Rhodes, and Prof. Dr. Myriam Ertz (left to right).

We also recognized three recipients of the Emerging Sustainability Leader Award: Prof. Dr. Vhahangwele Masindi, Dr. Katya Rhodes, and Prof. Dr. Myriam Ertz, for their contributions as early-career researchers advancing sustainability through innovation, impact, and academic excellence across the field.

What this means for MDPI

1. Building our global identity in events
   WSF is a marquee MDPI event, not just a gathering, but a statement of how we wish to position ourselves in the global sustainability ecosystem. The positive feedback helps us build on our approach for future editions, so that we remain a reference point for quality, relevance, and engagement.
2. Expanding capacity across offices
   The success of WSF 11 in Barcelona’s would not have happened without great teamwork from Basel, Barcelona, Romania, the UK, and the APAC Conference team. Thanks to everyone for their work to bring this ambitious event to life.
3. Supporting MDPI’s mission
   At this event, I had the opportunity to present on MDPI's role in Open Access, sustainability publishing, and the intersection of science and policy. WSF is not only about the science; it’s also a platform for us to position MDPI as a thought leader and a collaborator in shaping the future of sustainable research.

I look forward to the WSF momentum as we work towards WSF 12 in Hong Kong, which is scheduled for August 2026.

MDPI Colleagues at the 11th World Sustainability Forum in Barcelona, Spain, 2–3 October 2025.

Impactful Research

Celebrating 2025 Nobel Laureates who have published with MDPI

October is always an inspiring month in science. It’s when the world turns its attention to the Nobel Prize announcements, recognizing discoveries that have changed how we understand the world.

Over the years, many distinguished researchers who have received the Nobel Prize have chosen to publish their work with MDPI. These are scientists whose breakthroughs have shaped entire fields of research, and who have entrusted our Open Access journals to share their findings with the world.

“The work we support can be world-class and world-changing”

Congratulations to the 2025 Laureates

Dozens of Nobel Laureates have published in our journals: as at 2024, more than 40 laureates had contributed over 115 articles across more than 35 MDPI journals. Congratulations to the three 2025 Nobel prize-winners who have published with MDPI during their careers. Below are links to their MDPI publications and announcements for further reading:

• Omar M. Yaghi (Chemistry)
• Awarded for his pioneering work on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). MDPI published his article “Covalent Organic Frameworks: Organic Chemistry Beyond the Molecule” in Molecules (2017).
• MDPI Announcement: https://www.mdpi.com/news/13455
• Nobel Prize in Chemistry – The Science Behind the Prize
• Shimon Sakaguchi (Medicine) 
• Recognized for discoveries in immune-system self-tolerance and regulatory T-cells. Published in Cancers (2021).
• MDPI Announcement: https://www.mdpi.com/news/13443
• Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine – The Science Behind the Prize
• John M. Martinis (Physics) 
• Recognized for quantum tunnelling in electrical circuits. MDPI’s Journal of Nuclear Engineering (2025) includes his co-authored work.
• MDPI Announcement: https://www.mdpi.com/news/13450
• Nobel Prize in Physics – The Science Behind the Prize

These connections strengthen our mission to make research freely available and ensure that transformative ideas reach the widest possible audience.

Publishing at the leading edge of knowledge

The privilege of hosting such contributors resonates deeply with our editorial teams. It shows that top-tier scientific work has a home at MDPI, which builds our visibility in the research community. It signals that our publishing model, our editorial workflows, and our commitment to Open Access are respected at the very highest levels of science. It also gives our authors, reviewers, editors and staff the message that the work we support can be world-class and world-changing.

Publishing at the leading edge of knowledge isn’t just about individual papers – it’s about the ecosystem of support, transparency, and accessibility that makes discovery possible. Let’s continue to build a publishing platform and provide a service that attracts and enables both everyday research and the breakthroughs of tomorrow.

Inside MDPI

Strengthening Research Integrity: MDPI partners with Proofig AI

I’m pleased to share that MDPI has entered a multi-year partnership with Proofig AI, a leader in AI-driven proofing and integrity software for scientific publishing. This follows the success of our pilot program, in which Proofig AI proved highly effective in detecting duplicated, altered, and manipulated images across biomedical submissions.

Safeguarding the credibility of the research we publish

Research integrity is at the core of MDPI’s mission. The life sciences, in particular, face increasing risks of image-related issues due to advanced editing tools and generative AI. By integrating Proofig AI into our workflows, we improve our ability to detect issues early, reduce post-publication corrections, and safeguard the credibility of the research we publish.

Pilot outcomes

• Successful detection of duplicated confocal and histology images, even when altered to disguise similarities.
• Early results showed a significant drop in post-publication image manipulation flags year-on-year.
• Positive feedback from editors and staff highlighted the tool’s ease of use and reliability.

Raising the bar for integrity

This partnership sets a new benchmark for quality control in biomedical publishing.

Faster and more accurate quality control

Proofig will automatically flag potentially problematic images during submission checks, giving our editors more confidence in the integrity of manuscripts and freeing up time to focus on editorial decisions. The tool will also reduce the burden of manual checks, while supporting faster and more accurate quality control. This partnership reinforces MDPI's reputation as a publisher that takes integrity seriously and continues to invest in tools to support authors, editors, and reviewers alike.

A big thank-you to all colleagues who supported the pilot and rollout. You can read more in our MDPI Blog post.

Coming Together for Science

The MDPI Romania Summit 2025

On 21–22 October, I had the pleasure of joining our colleagues in Bucharest for the MDPI Romania Summit 2025. The event was organized by our Romania Marketing team, with support from colleagues across our Romanian offices. It brought together academics, policymakers, and collaborators to discuss the country’s evolving research landscape.

Over two days, we welcomed more than 30 participants, including Editorial Board Members, Guest Editors, and policy-makers from the Romanian research and education sectors, including representatives from the Romanian Academy and the National Commission for the Accreditation of Academic Titles (CNATDCU).

The discussions and presentations reflected the strength and growth of Romania’s research community and its active engagement in Open Access publishing.

“The discussions and presentations reflected the strength and growth of Romania’s research community”

Romania’s role in Open Access

Romania loves Open Access and has emerged as one of MDPI’s most engaged national research communities. The numbers speak for themselves:

• 67% of all publications in Romania were Open Access in 2024.
• MDPI accounts for 39% of the country’s total OA publications (14,779 in 2024).
• Over the last five years (2020–2024), Romanian institutions published over 33,000 papers with MDPI.
• There are 460 active Editorial Board Members from Romania, including 8 Chief Editors.
• 29 institutions are part of our Institutional Open Access Program (IOAP), with 8 new members joining in 2025.

These numbers reflect the trust and reliable partnership we have built with the Romanian academic community.

Highlights from the Summit

The program covered a wide range of topics from MDPI’s achievements and updates to our editorial processes, peer-review quality, AI in publishing, IOAP and Open Access funding models, and publication ethics.

Agenda Highlights:

• MDPI Introduction, Performance & Achievements, and Collaboration with Romania – Stefan Tochev (CEO, MDPI).
• Trust the Process: Editorial Workflow and Quality in Publishing – Dr. Liliane Auwerter (Scientific Review Group).
• Publication Ethics at MDPI: Safeguarding the Integrity of the Published Scholarly Record – Diana Cristina Apodaritei (Research Integrity Specialist).
• Institutional Partnerships – Becky Castellon (Institutional Partnerships Manager, MDPI).
• AI in Publishing and MDPI's Actions – Sanita Meijere (AI Product Manager).
• Closing Remarks – Stefan Tochev (CEO, MDPI).

Participants shared feedback and ideas for future collaborations, including organizing author workshops, possible conference collaborations, and strengthening our engagement with national institutions such as the Ministry of Education and Research and the National Council of Romanian Rectors.

As Acad. Dr. Nicolae-Victor Zamfir, Vice President of the Romanian Academy, noted during the discussions:

“The organization of the event is very timely, because MDPI is a publishing house in full development and expansion. The opinion of researchers is important for increasing the quality of published works.”

A collaborative future

Events like this remind us how essential it is to engage locally and listen directly to the voices of our editors, authors, and institutional partners. They help us build relationships, improve our understanding of the local market, and align our shared goals in advancing Open Access and research quality.

Thank you to everyone involved, especially our Romania Marketing team, who organized the event, and to all colleagues who continue to build relationships with our academic communities around the world.

Thank you!

A special thank-you to the Romanian Marketing team and all colleagues behind the scenes who made this Summit such a success. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. We look forward to building on this momentum with future Summits in Europe and beyond.

Closing Thoughts

STM and FBF 2025: Connecting Through Science and Publishing

“The STM meeting brings together the publishing community and key opinion leaders”

STM also provides a space to connect with industry peers, as I did with colleagues from Elsevier, Frontiers, Clarivate, Sage, and STM itself, reinforcing MDPI’s engagement within the broader publishing community. It was also nice to bump into some former colleagues and see them continuing to grow in their publishing careers.

At the Frankfurt Book Fair