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New publishing company wants India to be an industry 'frontrunner'
The founders of a new academic publishing platform in India say they are aiming to contribute to the transformation of the country into a knowledge superpower and a global leader in higher education. Vivek Mehra and Shafina Segon describe Vikramshila Education as “an honest effort to level the playing field removing the barriers of exclusion, regionalism and discrimination for researchers, especially in the developing world”. The company is launching
a series of subject- specific megajournals, called Aakashganga, and is inviting researchers and professionals yearning to publish their findings to make contact. Vikramshila is also planning to launch an open access platform for books
called Kaashi. The founders said: “This mission we have embarked upon aspires to help Indian researchers find their rightful space in the global order. Vikramshila Education is an honest effort to level the playing field removing the barriers of exclusion, regionalism and discrimination for researchers, especially in the developing world. India's research, like that of the developing world, is important for local researchers. “These numbers reflect the
growing frustration among academics and the system that doesn't have a solution on the horizon. Vikramshila is committed to providing transparent, credible, and affordable publishing outlets primarily to Indian researchers and researchers from the developing world. The dream
is to see India become the frontrunner in scientific research output.” Vikramshila Education
has also created a portal for freelancers. This portal (in development), is called Seva Haat, which translates into 'a marketplace providing services'. The founders added: “Seva
Haat aims to be the largest network of independent professionals. If you have a skill, we will create a user for it. Currently, we are limiting ourselves to publishing services only.”
Read our interview with Vivek Mehra on page 24
Article access 'doubled or tripled' after switch to new open access model
Non-profit science publisher Annual Reviews has converted the first 15 journal volumes of the year to open access (OA), resulting in substantial increases in downloads of articles in the first month. Through the innovative
OA model called Subscribe to Open (S2O), developed by Annual Reviews, existing institutional customers continue to subscribe to the journals. With sufficient support, every new volume is immediately converted to OA under a Creative Commons license and is available for everyone to read and re-use. In addition, all articles from the previous nine volumes are also accessible to all. If support is insufficient, the paywall is retained. Richard Gallagher, President
32 Research Information Spring 2023
results for the American people. Janet Coffey, Program
and Editor-in-Chief of Annual Reviews, said: “As soon as the paywall is removed, article access doubled or tripled and continues to rise, with usage not just from subscribers but from local governments and businesses, foundations, professionals and interested members of society. The increase of usage in low- or middle-income countries (LMIC) is especially notable.” This breakthrough comes in the “Federal Year of Open Science” in the US, which recognises the benefits of open science for a number of US strategic interests and delivers evidence-based
Director of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, which provided grant support to introduce S2O, said: “This approach presents academic societies and other small publishers who are encountering difficulties in converting to open access with a practical new option that is compatible with their values and their budgets.” Unlike other OA models,
there are no fees for authors to publish in journals supported by S2O. This means that researchers in relatively poorly funded areas of research, such as the social sciences and researchers in LMIC, have the same opportunity to publish OA as their colleagues from better-
funded disciplines or institutions. Margaret Levi, Professor of
Political Science and Senior Fellow at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford University and Co-Editor of the Annual Review of Political Science, said: “Opening up the knowledge generated by social sciences researchers is of immediate practical application in creating and implementing solutions to our most pressing challenges, be it health and education equity, inclusive economic growth, or the commitment to democracy. This is the promise of S2O.”
Read S2O's Tricia Miller and Andrea Lopez explain how the model works on page 14
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