TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM has hosted the 17th General Assembly and Conference of the European Association of Science Editors (EASE) organized under the theme “Scientific Publishing of High Quality.” A total of 193 people from 36 countries attended the conference, which was held at the School of Architecture of Istanbul Technical University between June 1 and June 3, 2023. The hybrid event brought together 61 participants from all over the world, including the United Kingdom, Croatia, Canada, Chile, Brazil and Finland who attended in person, and 132 people who took part online.
In his opening speech at the conference, TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM Director M. Mirat SATOĞLU said that they were delighted to be hosting this international scientific event in Turkey. He gave details of the services provided to researchers in line with the vision and mission of TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM, including national academic e-infrastructures that support advanced technologies, activities facilitating access to scientific information, services in support of the dissemination of open-source software and the development of educational technologies. He said that TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM also offers a TR Indexing (National Citation Index) service aimed at increasing the quality of 11 scientific academic journals that are included in internationally recognized indexes and published for different disciplines, and scientific journals based in Türkiye.
Over the course of the conference, 32 expert speakers from different countries made presentations over 10 separate sessions, speaking on such issues as the functioning of the editorial process for the assurance of quality, qualified committees and refereeing procedures, the management of journal expenses, the digital programs and technological innovations in the field, the impact factor and journal performance, the quality criteria for inclusion in recognized indexes and the effect of open access on the quality of a journal. The conference followed an interactive and dynamic design approach in which questions from the participants were answered at the end of each session. The participants were also able to attend courses given by well-known instructors on “Publishing ethics” and “How to become a successful scientific journal editor.” Attending the 17th EASE General Assembly and Conference free of charge were 10 editors from Türkiye’s earthquake-stricken area and two editors from Syria.
EASE (European Association of Science Editors) is an international community of editors from diverse backgrounds, and with different languages and professional experiences who share a passion for science and scientific communication, editing and publishing. EASE has been operating as a global non-profit organization for over 40 years, aiming to increase the reputation of science editors, to ensure their professional development, and to support research and collaboration.
The results of the election held to name the new members of the Board of Directors in the General Assembly held on the sidelines of the EASE Congress were made public. Long-term EASE Board of Directors member Prof. Dr. Cem UZUN, head of the ENT Diseases Department of the School of Medicine of Koç University and a member of the TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM TR Index Committee, was elected EASE President for the 2023–2025 term. Sibel TABANLIOĞLU an expert and TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM TR Directory Coordinator, has been a member of EASE for two years and is the head of its Türkiye branch.