Sweden-South Africa Tech Deal To Boost African Omics Science

The University of Padua and the Public Library of Science have reached an agreement that will allow researchers to publish endlessly across all 12 PLOS titles without paying any fees.

Sweden-South Africa Tech Deal To Boost African Omics Science

The University of Padua and the Public Library of Science (PLOS) have reached an agreement that will allow researchers to publish endlessly across all 12 PLOS titles without paying any fees. The three cutting-edge publishing models offered by PLOS are covered by this agreement, which guarantees researchers from the University of Padua will profit from easy, cost-free publishing with PLOS.

Following agreements in Germany, Sweden, Ireland, and the UK, this agreement is another in Europe (Jisc).  Sara Rouhi, Director of Strategic Partnerships for PLOS, said, “We are excited to expand our footprint in Italy with these new publishing models, which enable more researchers to participate in advancing open science. The University of Padua agrees with us that everyone will benefit from scholarly research and publishing that are fair and open to all.”

“Our university has recently put in place a number of policies designed to make scientific research open and accessible. The University of Padua has designated the support of open science and open access as one of its primary strategic objectives.

This aligns with the university’s motto, “Universa Universis Patavina Libertas,” which is a reflection of the historical tradition of cultural openness and freedom shared by individuals like Galileo Galilei.

The agreement with PLOS aligns with that philosophy, and we are happy to have signed it as the first university in Italy, according to professor Monica Salvadori, vice rector for historical and cultural heritage and head of the University of Padua’s open science commission. “We are confident that now there will be more chances for our researchers to drive scientific advancements in a transparent and reliable manner.”

To ensure more equitable and regionally appropriate ways to support open access publishing, all PLOS journals are supported by institutional business models that go beyond the article processing charge (APC). Community Action Publishing (CAP), flat fees, and the global equity model are PLOS’ institutional models, respectively.

“It was an honour for me to work on the first contract in Italy between PLOS and the University of Padua. The University of Padua will be able to publish in all of PLOS’ journals through the end of the year thanks to this agreement, according to Barbara Valcelli, Accucoms Regional Sales Manager for Italy.

“I was pleased to have mediated discussions between PLOS and the University of Padua to reach this significant agreement, which will play a crucial role in making scientific research at the University of Padua open and accessible,” said the facilitator.

The University of Padua has decided to support its researchers through publishing agreements with PLOS, joining a growing list of organisations that also includes the Big Ten Academic Alliance, the University of California system, CRL and NERL, Jisc (including University College London, Imperial College London, and the University of Manchester), the Sachsen and TIB consortia in Germany, and the Canadian Research Knowledge Network.

PLOS was recently recognised by the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP) as a co-winner for Innovation in Publishing in 2021 for its Community Action Publishing model.