MDPI renews Swiss open access agreement with CSAL
MDPI has renewed its publishing agreement with the Consortium of Swiss Academic Libraries (CSAL) – providing researchers at 24 Swiss institutions with discounted open access publishing opportunities.
The one-year agreement gives participating institutions continued access to MDPI’s Institutional Open Access Program (IOAP), under which researchers receive a 20% discount on article processing charges (APCs).
The renewal comes as the publisher releases its 2025 Country Report for Switzerland, highlighting the country’s continued commitment to open access publishing and open science.
Alistair Freeland, chief operating officer at MDPI, said: “Our ongoing collaboration with CSAL reflects the strong support for Open Access publishing across Switzerland’s academic community. As a Swiss-founded publishing house, we are especially proud to support researchers in Switzerland in sharing their knowledge and discoveries with audiences around the world, while helping to ensure that Swiss research remains at the forefront of the global Open Access movement.”
According to MDPI, Switzerland has consistently ranked among the world’s leading countries for open access publishing over the past decade. The publisher’s report found that the proportion of publications from Swiss-based researchers made available through open access remained between 65% and 70% from 2021 to 2025.
MDPI said the renewed agreement will help Swiss researchers continue to publish and disseminate their work without barriers, supporting wider access to research outputs and accelerating scientific discovery.
The publisher says the report also highlights its engagement with the Swiss research community. By the end of 2025, the publisher had provided publishing services to 29,645 researchers at Swiss universities and published more than 14,000 papers from Swiss-based researchers since 2021.
In 2025, more than 2,100 papers authored by 5,419 researchers from Swiss institutions were published across 327 MDPI journals. The report also notes that 2,817 Swiss scholars contributed 9,656 peer review reports, while 1,574 Switzerland-based academics served as MDPI editors, including 12 editors-in-chief.
Stefan Tochev, CEO of MDPI, added: “Demand for Open Access in Switzerland remains strong, as reflected in our latest Country Report, which shows consistently high OA publication rates of around 65 to 70% and strong engagement from thousands of researchers across Swiss institutions. These results highlight the depth and maturity of the Swiss research ecosystem in advancing open science.
“Our renewed partnership with CSAL builds on this momentum, ensuring that researchers across 24 institutions can continue to publish with greater accessibility and reduced barriers. We are pleased to support this progress and to work closely with the Swiss academic community as Open Access continues to expand its global impact.”