MDPI Canada & USA | MDPI Toronto Summit 2026 Summary—Connecting Leadership and Celebrating 30 Years of Open Access and Academic Collaboration

From 9 to 10 July 2026, MDPI hosted the 2026 Toronto Summit, bringing together 40+ Editors-in-Chief, leading researchers, and members of the academic community for meaningful discussions, collaboration, and connection.

Celebrating MDPI’s 30-year publishing journey, the Toronto Summit offered an opportunity to reflect on how scholarly publishing has evolved across Canada and the United States while exploring what lies ahead for open access. Through thought-provoking presentations and engaging discussions, Editors-in-Chief and MDPI representatives exchanged ideas on the responsible use of AI, research integrity, editorial best practices, and the evolving role of editors, creating a collaborative forum for meaningful dialogue and connection.

The Summit was held in the heart of Toronto’s historic financial district. We were delighted to be able to welcome members of our global leadership team, including CEO Stefan Tochev to the Summit, alongside colleagues from across MDPI offices, whose presentations and discussions provided actionable insights into MDPI’s vision for the future of open access publishing. The 2026 Summit opened on 9 July with our Networking & Appreciation Dinner and continued into 10 July with our official Meetings & Presentations proceedings taking place.

For a summation of the most important presentations and highlights of the 2026 Toronto Summit, please see below:

9 July – Networking & Appreciation Dinner

·       The 2026 iteration of the Toronto Summit began with our Networking & Appreciation Dinner in the evening hours of 9 July. Invited scholars were given a brief introduction from our Head of Business Development and Operations Manager of our Philadelphia office, Bob Vrooman, before beginning dinner and conversations with their peers and MDPI colleagues.

10 July – Opening of the Event

• As the host of the 2026 Toronto Summit, Bob Vrooman returned to the podium and officially opened the Summit proceedings by welcoming attendees, introducing the format of the event, and giving insights into MDPI’s growth in the North American market.

MDPI Introduction

MDPI’s CEO Stefan Tochev then discussed MDPI’s achievements and future developments. MDPI, celebrating its 30th anniversary, has published over 4.5 million articles with 8,200 staff, a 27% increase from 2024. In 2025, MDPI received 670,000 submissions, published 260,000 peer-reviewed papers, and maintained a 45-day manuscript processing time. MDPI’s journals are indexed in 70 databases, with 80% in Scopus and 70% in Web of Science. The company aims to balance speed and communication, focusing on community engagement and expanding into new markets.

Engagement with Academic Community

Carlo Aloe, Head of Societies and Acquisition at MDPI Switzerland, and Karen Irwin, Associate Editorial Engagement Manager at MDPI Canada, discussed MDPI’s engagement with the academic community, highlighting the organization’s North American offices in Toronto and Philadelphia. MDPI hosted over 500 one-on-one meetings with editors, organized 26 conferences, and held 19 academic publishing workshops in 2025. They emphasized the importance of community, with the Toronto office growing to 85 employees and the U.S. office to six. Carla detailed MDPI’s collaboration with societies, including publishing journals on their behalf, and the benefits of affiliation and journal acquisitions. The discussion underscored MDPI’s commitment to open access, editorial support, and fostering global academic connections.

Latest Developments in the Editorial Process

Summer Huggard, Operations Manager of MDPI Canada’s Toronto office, detailed the editorial process, emphasizing transparency and rigor. Key points included the importance of peer review, open access, and the challenges such as reviewer fatigue and unethical practices. Metrics showed a 40% acceptance rate in 2024-2025. The process involves pre-check, peer review, and final decision stages, with quality checks at each step. Automated tools like iThenticate for plagiarism and Journal Finder for journal matching support the process. Special Issues follow the same review process as regular submissions, with a reduced ratio of Special Issue papers to maintain relevance and impact.

Research Integrity and Publication Ethics

Renato Merki, Research Integrity Specialist from the Basel office, discussed the importance of publishing ethics, emphasizing the need for integrity, quality, and validity in research publications. He highlighted the rise of paper mills and AI-generated content, leading to increased retraction rates. The publisher’s two-pronged approach includes pre- and post-publication checks, with a focus on community-driven workflows and expert oversight. Key metrics include a 200% increase in image concerns, a 15% rise in citation irregularities, and a significant increase in retractions from 44 in 2023 to 233 in 2025. The goal is to maintain trust in the scientific record through transparency and consistent processes.

AI and Technology in Publishing

Barnaby Crook, Regional Engagement Editor, examined the evolution of technology and publishing, emphasizing the impact of AI on academic publishing. Key points included the historical context of the printing press and the introduction of academic journals. The speaker highlighted AI’s role in automating workflows, enhancing productivity, and introducing ethical concerns such as authorship attribution and plagiarism. Metrics showed a significant increase in AI use in scientific literature, with tools like Ethicality 2.0 being developed to detect AI-generated content. The discussion also touched on the need for responsible AI use to maintain the integrity of scientific publishing.

Panel Discussion

This session was a panel discussion moderated by Summer Huggard, Bob Vrooman, Stefan Tochev and Renato Merki. The discussion focused heavily on AI in publishing, editorial responsibilities, journal development, and future directions. Key points included reviewer selection for interdisciplinary research and the importance of manual verification of AI-suggested reviewers, similarity index thresholds, MDPI’s manuscript appeal process and editorial responsibilities, AI-assisted editorial tools, detection technologies, responsible integration of AI into the publishing workflow, best practices for Special Issues, community engagement initiatives, and much more.

Closing Remarks

Closing remarks were presented by CEO Stefan Tochev, thanking all guests for sharing their time with us and leaving attendees with an optimistic view of MDPI’s progression moving forward in both North America and worldwide. Guests were then prompted for a final hour of lunch on the 2^nd floor mezzanine along with networking and to have any final conversations before the event officially concluded.

Looking Ahead

The MDPI Toronto Summit 2026 represented far more than a gathering of researchers and Editors-in-Chief. As we celebrated 30 years of MDPI and three decades of advancing open access publishing, the 2026 Summit provided a valuable opportunity to reflect on the evolution of scholarly communication while exchanging ideas that will help shape its future. We extend our sincere appreciation to our Editors-in-Chief, speakers, attendees, guests, and members of MDPI’s global leadership team for contributing their expertise, perspectives, and enthusiasm throughout the event. The thoughtful discussions surrounding research integrity, responsible AI, editorial best practices, and the changing role of scholarly publishing reaffirmed the importance of fostering meaningful collaboration across the academic community. As MDPI continues to support researchers through our innovative publishing services and opportunities for engagement, we remain committed to strengthening partnerships and creating forums that encourage knowledge exchange, scientific excellence, and lasting impact. We look forward to welcoming our community to future Summits and events as we continue advancing open, collaborative, and high-quality scholarly publishing together.