MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUT FÜR WISSENSCHAFTSGESCHICHTE Max Planck Institute for the History of Science

Event

Sep 7, 2023
Dynamics of Academic Publishing in (and from) China: Will Chinese Publishers Be Able to Fulfill the Publishing Needs of Chinese Academic Researchers?

Within this research project, Matthias Wahls focuses on the roles of Chinese and international academic publishers as key facilitators of communicating latest research findings through their work publishing academic research papers in international journals.

The Chinese government has recently introduced several research evaluation and publication policies. The various policies apply first to a significant extent for Chinese academics and do define as to where and where not to publish their research papers. Secondly, some other policies can be understood as an attempt by Chinese official sources to present guidelines for further development towards an internationally competitive academic journal publishing portfolio in China. While for the first part, some first academic research has meanwhile been published, little is known or published about the second major part i.e., the role of the academic publishers.

As a start, here are two questions to be (re)viewed:

(1) Will Chinese publishers become a strong(er) competitor of international academic publishers over time, or will they yet remain “local” in their own (commercial) growth ambitions?

(2) Will Chinese publishers eventually challenge the US, UK, and EU dominated landscape of international academic research collaboration including the most relevant publication and evaluation habits by introducing new domestic modes of research assessment & publication policies international?

 

  • Matthias Wahls
    Matthias Wahls

    Dr Matthias Wahls, 吴乐思, started The M. Wahls Intercultural Publishing Consultancy, 乐思跨文化出版咨询, in 2010. He acts as an intermediary between international academic publishers and publishing groups and University Presses from China.

    Prior to this, he worked with the Leiden-based academic publisher Brill (2003-2009), for whom he managed its market entry to China in 2005-2006. In his first major project as an independent consultant, he managed the Chinese market entry of the Berlin-based academic publisher De-Gruyter in 2010-11. His bridge-building activities between the East and the West led to the initiation of the first merger between a Chinese based academic publisher, Science Press of CSPM, Beijing and the French society publisher EDP-sciences in 2019.

    Besides his commercial activities as a consultant, Wahls teaches publishing and information science at various faculties both in the West and in China. Together with Professor Xu Jie, School of Information Management, Wuhan University, he co-authored a paper on the international ambitions of Chinese academic publishers in Learned Publishing, 2012.

    Wahls was a member on the editorial board of the conference series “Academic Publishing in Europe (APE)” in 2012-13, a co-organizer of four APE- preconference events, and the organizer of a panel at the APE2011.eu main conference. He has also been a visiting lecturer to the Leipzig University of Applied Sciences (HTWK Leipzig) since 2013.

Organizer(s)
Address
Boltzmannstraße 18, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Room
B18–008/Zoom
Contact and Registration

We welcome both internal and external guests. For further information about the LMRG Colloquium series, specific sessions, or registration (a limited number of places are available), please contact Dieu Linh Bui Dao.

About This Series

The LMRG Colloquium is a venue for members and guests of the Lise Meitner Research Group, "China in the Global System of Science," to share their work in progress. It is an opportunity to raise questions, discuss methodological challenges, or get feedback on preliminary conclusions. We aim to create a supportive atmosphere that combines rigorous criticism with genuine curiosity.

Full program of the LMRG Colloquium 2023-24
2023-09-07T14:00:00SAVE IN I-CAL 2023-09-07 14:00:00 2023-09-07 15:30:00 Dynamics of Academic Publishing in (and from) China: Will Chinese Publishers Be Able to Fulfill the Publishing Needs of Chinese Academic Researchers? Within this research project, Matthias Wahls focuses on the roles of Chinese and international academic publishers as key facilitators of communicating latest research findings through their work publishing academic research papers in international journals. The Chinese government has recently introduced several research evaluation and publication policies. The various policies apply first to a significant extent for Chinese academics and do define as to where and where not to publish their research papers. Secondly, some other policies can be understood as an attempt by Chinese official sources to present guidelines for further development towards an internationally competitive academic journal publishing portfolio in China. While for the first part, some first academic research has meanwhile been published, little is known or published about the second major part i.e., the role of the academic publishers. As a start, here are two questions to be (re)viewed: (1) Will Chinese publishers become a strong(er) competitor of international academic publishers over time, or will they yet remain “local” in their own (commercial) growth ambitions? (2) Will Chinese publishers eventually challenge the US, UK, and EU dominated landscape of international academic research collaboration including the most relevant publication and evaluation habits by introducing new domestic modes of research assessment & publication policies international?   Matthias Wahls Dr Matthias Wahls, 吴乐思, started The M. Wahls Intercultural Publishing Consultancy, 乐思跨文化出版咨询, in 2010. He acts as an intermediary between international academic publishers and publishing groups and University Presses from China. Prior to this, he worked with the Leiden-based academic publisher Brill (2003-2009), for whom he managed its market entry to China in 2005-2006. In his first major project as an independent consultant, he managed the Chinese market entry of the Berlin-based academic publisher De-Gruyter in 2010-11. His bridge-building activities between the East and the West led to the initiation of the first merger between a Chinese based academic publisher, Science Press of CSPM, Beijing and the French society publisher EDP-sciences in 2019. Besides his commercial activities as a consultant, Wahls teaches publishing and information science at various faculties both in the West and in China. Together with Professor Xu Jie, School of Information Management, Wuhan University, he co-authored a paper on the international ambitions of Chinese academic publishers in Learned Publishing, 2012. Wahls was a member on the editorial board of the conference series “Academic Publishing in Europe (APE)” in 2012-13, a co-organizer of four APE- preconference events, and the organizer of a panel at the APE2011.eu main conference. He has also been a visiting lecturer to the Leipzig University of Applied Sciences (HTWK Leipzig) since 2013. Boltzmannstraße 18, 14195 Berlin, Germany B18–008/Zoom Franziska Marliese FröhlichDieu Linh Bui Dao Franziska Marliese FröhlichDieu Linh Bui Dao Europe/Berlin public