We were thrilled to participate in APE at our home base in Berlin, Germany. We hosted a pre-conference gathering at our office the night before the event, bringing industry minds together to discuss the future of publishing workflows.This year, we enjoyed exchanging ideas around key themes in scholarly communications, including Open Access, scale, AI, and, of course, research integrity. Dive into our highlights video for a quick recap.
During the conference, our Chief Growth Officer Othman Altalib proudly took part in Day 2’s panel: "The Research Integrity Debate: Should science speed up or slow down?." Joining the discussion were notable figures including Kim Eggleton, Head of Peer Review & Research Integrity at IOP Publishing, Hylke Koers, Chief Information Officer at STM Solutions, Julian Moore, Managing Director of Technology Corporate Finance at Lincoln International, with Sven Fund, Managing Director of Reviewer Credits, leading the discussion. You can watch the recording here. Here are our top takeaways from the discussion.
Integrity overhaul: Rethinking and reshaping infrastructure
As the discussion began, each panelist outlined the urgent need for updated infrastructure in scholarly publishing.
"We use a submission system that was built 20-30 years ago when integrity wasn't a thing," said Kim Eggleton. Now, faced with outdated publishing systems, Eggleton and other publishers find themselves compelled to rebuild systems from the ground up, with integrity at the forefront.
Our Chief Growth Officer, Othman Altalib, advocates for a paradigm shift through centralized industry-wide collaboration. "We can't put innovation in a bottle; we need to collaborate and compete,” he highlighted.
At Morressier, leveraging our existing workflow infrastructure, we've integrated tools from several diverse technology partners—like Cactus Communications, Copyleaks, and more—embedded into a single platform. This isn't merely an update; it's a transformative overhaul of scholarly publishing infrastructure. Our combination of tools not only enhances fraud and misconduct detection but also addresses vulnerabilities like plagiarism and AI-generated text, streamlining the process for publishers.
No longer submerged in a sea of different signals and solutions, as highlighted by Kim Eggleton, publishers now have access to a refined and simplified approach.
Can we survive the pressure to publish?
Why has the research integrity crisis exploded in recent years?
Panelists point to the "publish or perish" culture in academia. "We have to recognize that the pressure on authors makes it impossible to succeed in this environment," says Eggleton. "As publishers alone, we cannot solve this problem." She highlights the desperation of authors to get published, without necessarily thinking about where their ideas are being shared, providing fertile ground for paper mills to exploit these researchers. Eggleton shares stories of authors even requesting research retractions to be pushed post-graduation.
Our Othman Altalib shared that amidst these pressures, startups like Morressier emerge to bridge the gaps in the entire research lifecycle within a unified platform. With publishers overwhelmed by publication pressure and multiple solutions and signals, connecting every individual involved in an idea—from authors and funders to publishers—simplifies and streamlines the entire scientific process, reducing vulnerabilities that bad actors could exploit in the publishing system.
Amidst this pressure, will it take two decades for today’s integrity issues to be solved? Hylke Koers says no, and expresses optimism due to technology's potential role. He sees abundant opportunities for collaboration, emphasizing the need for continued cooperation among publishers and technology companies.
The crucial role of startups in the academic publishing landscape
As the panel closed out, experts explored the need for innovation within the scholarly publishing world, while acknowledging the challenges that come with implementing these changes—an obstacle termed the "Innovator's Dilemma" by Morressier CGO Othman Altalib.
Recognizing that financial investments alone won’t solve integrity issues overnight or overhaul our infrastructure, Julian Moore spoke about the importance of directing investments towards solutions and strategies that pave the way for future progress. Moore advocates for established publishers to effectively engage with and invest in startups. While fostering in-house innovation is valuable, the reality is that many publishers struggle with technology, and in order to succeed they need to create space for collaboration with third-party entities to provide the necessary resources.
The call for innovation within academic publishing is urgent, and this year we see startups positioned as crucial contributors to delivering the much-needed transformative solutions for our industry.
Conclusion
At Morressier, we’re driven by a dedicated commitment to innovation.
We are proud to participate in APE each year and be part of a space where academic stakeholders can come together to collaborate, connect, and discover transformative solutions that will drive our community forward.
