The future of academic publishing

Course slides

Presented by: Abeni Wickham, PhD, CEO/Founder of SciFree AB

Date: 2025-05-07

For: SciLife Training Hub

Course: Open Science in the Swedish Context

AGENDA

About Dynamica

The future of academia is built centred around your work, your value. 25 minutes

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Question our assumptions to build a better future

What do you think academia is wrong about and why? What is missing? 20 minutes

Land then Intro to SciFree's Journey

2 minute breathing then a 5 min brief introduction to what we do at SciFree

Box breathing About:

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https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/wellbeing/breathing-exercises

Journey

Process to progress

01.

Journey: Why

PhD to Post-Doc:

Lack in seamlessness of tools to really serve our workflow

Account associated with tweet no longer available

Journey: Why

Time off to re-learn:

What is it that we are responsible for as researchers

LiU Study Handbook 2015: https://liu.se/en/organisation/liu/lith/admission-to-doctoral-education-faculty-of-science-and-engineering

“Demonstrate in-depth insight into the possibilities and limitations of science, its role in society and people's responsibility for how it is used.”

Journey: Why

Publishing as software was not built for us:

Nothing new but not at scale

Forbes Elsevier 1995: https://www.scribd.com/document/292346391/Forbes-Elsevier-1995

1995 article about Elsevier

Journey: How

Listen, focus, then build

(consistently)

Components

Money: Equity and Sustainability

How will you ensure the pricing is good for everyone and

that it follows the university's goals; 50 years out

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Infrastructure; Open/Scale/Compete

How to balance openness with competitive advantages + Ensure to integrate libraries' resources

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People: Journeys

Who are we building for, what do they need now and can you see what they will need in the future?

Journey: Listen

Journey: Effect

Journal Search Tool in Sweden

Journey: Share and Serve

Journey: Community

NASIG- AW volunteering

Started 2021

Vice-Chair 25/26

Library forming a Community: Libraries helping each other and their researchers

About Dynamica

Your work, your value

02.

About Dynamica

https://x.com/archae_delle/status/1468284599071657991

About Dynamica: Listen

If you would like to say what you think: https://scifree.typeform.com/to/eGzH2wi5

C u r r e n t P a i n s

The current system is not updated with researcher needs or public interest

COST TO PUBLISH/ACCESS |

>1500€/PAPER & 3M €/YR/UNI

TIME TO REVIEW

NO VISIBILITY | UNIVERSITY/RESEARCHER SECOND TO PUBLISHER

FRAGMENTATION|PREDATORY

33000 JOURNALS/DIFFERENT VALUES

REDUCED ROLE FOR LIBRARIES BUT INCREASED NEED

About Dynamica: Focus

NO COST TO PUBLISH/ACCESS | NO

APC/OPEN ACCESS ALWAYS

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TIME TO PEER REVIEW | REDUCE REDUNDANCIES

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COHESIVE| INFORMATION/GUIDES COME TO YOU

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OPEN TO THE WORLD | RESEARCHERS AND UNIVERSITY KNOWN FIRST

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LIBRARIES AS YOUR GUIDE| PRESERVE, PROVIDE SEAMLESS ACCESS TO RESOURCES

F u t u r e G a i n s

Publishing as a Service

Pilot: Feature rich

Scale: Open to libraries, faster, better integrations

About Dynamica: Build

About Dynamica: Result

Link here

• Reviewer to do list
• Researcher CV
• More Data : Github and other repository integrations

• ++ Your feedback

About Dynamica: Keep going; Listen, focus, build

Question assumptions

The future of academia/publishing is yours, together

03.

Finally

"Changing the world is possible"

Theme for OA week 2025

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Small Steps

Hur äter man en elefant? En bit i taget! - How do you eat an elephant? In small bites

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Talk to your library team

You are both in this together and they want to

help you any way they can

https://www.su.se/stockholm-university-library/news/we-think-open-science-is-the-new-normal-1.652186

Thank you for your time and for listening

www.scifree.se

dynamica.scifree.se

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abeniwickham@scientificfreedom.org abeni@scifree.se