The world today is polarised and confused. The pandemic, war, socio-economic issues, and global warming and climate change, have put human beings in a vulnerable position, compelling them to seek reassurance for a better planet. This is where scientific research plays a crucial role, educating the masses, dispelling their darkness of misinformation with the light of trust.
For over 180 years, Springer Nature Group -- the world’s second largest scientific research publisher -- published journals, books, and articles on life sciences, health, social sciences, and many other disciplines, through a plethora of in-house brands such as Nature, Macmillan and Scientific American. In an exclusive interview with The New Indian Express’ Hrithik Kiran Bagade and Puran Choudhary, Springer Nature Group’s Chief Executive Officer Frank Vrancken Peeters (inset) shares his thoughts on the importance of research in today’s India and the world, to achieve the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), and keeping it open-access.
Could you shed some light about your India visit?
My visit is part of the Springer Nature India Research Tour. As a part of this, we visited IISc in Bengaluru. We have a large presence here, including in research, editorial and publishing. Of about 10,000 employees globally, most of our headcount, at 25%, is based here, operating out of large offices in Pune and Delhi. Different parts of Springer Nature are represented in India -- Healthcare, Education (Macmillan), etc.
What is the process for research work going into journals -- from funding to publication?
If you are a researcher, a funder gives you a grant for your research. As a result of that research, your findings will typically get published in a research journal. Usually, when a manuscript is pieced together, it goes to an editor, who sees if it fits the scope of a particular journal. If it does, it will be forwarded to two peer reviewers (usually two specialists in the same field), who will further evaluate it, and see if the findings are trustworthy. Then, they will give their recommendations for changes to the editor, who will resend it to the author. This process continues, and once the editor deems the work fit for publication, it is printed in one of our journals. Over 1.4 million articles are submitted to us each year, but we publish only 400,000. The journals with these works get distributed on our online platforms.
What are your thoughts about research being more open-access?
Traditionally, research used to be published in subscription journals, but over the last decade, a new model has emerged called ‘open-access’, where the researcher pays to get published. This makes sense because the funding organisation wants the world to see the research, since its funding in a specific field is helping find a new cure or new technology... research is mostly from public money to help the world. Hence, through open-access, everybody has access to that research. Now people may question, “If I pay to get published, is that dodgy?” The answer is “No”! Because it goes through exactly the same process as the subscription model. Currently, 30-40% of our publications are open-access. We expect it to surpass 50% by the end of next year, all for public good and more visibility. Open-access research gets 4-6 times more usage, and 1.5 times more citations.
What’s your take on the research landscape in India? How are you helping Indian research?
It’s fast-growing. Perhaps, China is bigger in terms of publication. But we expect India to grow significantly in the coming years. I think research publishing has been a strong tradition in India, and we are very optimistic about its growth. That’s why, we also have a strong presence here, and are investing in our editorial capabilities to help Indian researchers get published. We have sales, marketing and publishing teams here, while we work globally. The fact that we are now doing this tour is a good example too. We are trying to raise awareness about Indian research. We have invested in research labs in universities, where we training students in writing theses, post-docs, and other papers. We currently have two such labs in India. We work with leading Indian institutes.
During Covid, we became a hub for vaccine research and production, and are now becoming a space power. Do you see India’s research scope growing?
India is typically very strong in technology, applied sciences and medical science. However, SDGs are really important. There are issues like climate change, global food, education, wellbeing, global health. It’s difficult to deny that these problems exist. Indian research is covering all of them. I don’t think there is much of a knowledge gap anymore, but I do think, funding and facilities for researchers could be improved.
In terms of education, science text books continue to carry information about theories that were propounded ages ago. Do you think there ought to be changes made to this trend in sync with contemporary times?
We did quite an interesting concept in Macmillan to support the SDGs. That’s something we share as part of our Macmillan Education efforts, to educate pupils about SDGs. Awareness for future generations of where the planet is really going is very critical. There are opportunities to adapt and change.
Policymakers tend to subjectively look at research and its findings, often leading to misinformation and confusion. What are your thoughts?
Everybody tries to interpret as it suits them. We are a non-political organisation, and we just publish research that has been vetted by the research community, and that which can be trusted. We don’t take any political views. But you cannot deny something like climate change.
Research depends on funding. If funding stops, the research is impacted. What is the role of an independent research fund for dedicated grants according to you?
Funding in research is important, because it supports publication. Why would you not fund research? Why would you not educate yourself? Don’t you like to progress or tackle problems that you face as a country or as an individual? It’s sort of a moral question that as a country, should you fund research. Whether it’s feeding your population or anything alike, you need research.
Funding over the decade has been growing roughly by 5% annually. We have not seen any slowdown. Some countries tend to spend a higher percentage of their GDP on research.
In terms of science coverage in mainstream media, those interested tend to read such news, but what about dissemination for the understanding of the general public? Do you think this needs attention?
Over the last couple of years, research has
found itself better in the news than before. There is more general public interest too. We see articles from Nature frequently being cited in the news. But of course the situation can be better. These days, people look for trust. With the growth of social media and the amount of polarisation nowadays, trust in news has become an issue. The good part, however, is that people now want trustworthy news, and look for such brands.
What role will AI play in research?
AI is a huge opportunity for us. Our authors don’t like writing, they like to research. The manuscript is a result of research. Any tools that can help make the publication process easier -- for eg; language editing tools, are helpful. Also, we use AI to detect plagiarism. Accordingly, we have invested in AI and also built robust teams.
Is there a lack of interest in the modern generation and also visibility for scientific topics?
No, there is neither a lack of interest nor visibility. On the contrary, we are seeing heightened interest. There are areas such as protein structures that are very interesting. A lot of things have happened and are happening. Good research is being celebrated. Today’s youth is interested in science as well.
There is a lot of pseudo information available online. How can they be exposed?
There is growing interest and awareness among people about the news they can trust. People spend a lot of time on their phones, and at the same time, there is a growing community criticising that. There are also schools that want to restrict phone use. As a government, one must take the responsibility to create proper news information channels for the country. As parents, you need to make your children aware of what’s happening, which will also increase their interest in science.