Promoting Open Cooperation in Scientific Research and Connecting China with the World: An Interview with Magdalena Skipper, Editor-in-Chief of Nature

Promoting Open Scientific Cooperation, Connecting China and the World—An Interview with Magdalena Skipper, Editor-in-Chief of Nature

In recent years, China’s scientific research community has achieved major original results across multiple disciplines, leading the world for five consecutive years in the number of high-level international journal papers and international patent applications. As an internationally renowned academic publishing institution, Springer Nature (of which Nature is the flagship journal) has increasingly prioritized exchange and cooperation with the Chinese research community. Recently, to fulfill its commitment to continuously support the development of Chinese research through its journals, books, and services, Springer Nature established the China Academic Advisory Board in Beijing and held its inaugural forum.

Upon the establishment of the board, Magdalena Skipper, Editor-in-Chief of Nature and Chief Editorial Advisor for the Nature portfolio, accepted an exclusive interview with this reporter in Beijing. She emphasized that China is achieving immense progress across many disciplines, a trend she expects will continue to strengthen in the future.

1. Establishing a Platform for All Parties to Exchange Ideas

Speaking on the original objective for establishing the China Academic Advisory Board, Skipper explained that the research ecosystem is composed of many different participants, including academia, academic publishers, regulatory agencies, public funding bodies, philanthropic organizations, policymakers, research managers, civil society, and academic groups.

"As an academic publisher, it is vital for us to maintain close contact with other stakeholders in the research community. We need to understand each other's challenges, opportunities, and needs. Establishing the Academic Advisory Board and forum provides us with a platform to exchange ideas."

Scientific research is a global undertaking, yet every country faces unique challenges and priorities within its specific research ecology. Consequently, since 2021, Springer Nature has established academic advisory boards in the United States, Europe, Africa, and Latin America, with each board holding in-person meetings annually on different themes.

For example, the newly established China Academic Advisory Board consists of 25 leading figures from institutions and organizations including scientific research, research funding, policymaking, and corporate R&D. They will help Springer Nature deepen its understanding of the Chinese research ecosystem to better meet the needs of different groups within it, while also sharing professional viewpoints and international perspectives from publishers and editors with all parties.

"We planned to establish an academic advisory board in China a long time ago, and I am very pleased to see this vision become a reality. China has become, and will continue to be, a major player on the global scientific stage," Skipper noted. She explained that the China Academic Advisory Board aims to help advance key priorities in China’s research field and is an essential component of Springer Nature’s global network of academic advisory boards. These boards follow the group’s mission of "advancing discovery" ^[1] with the shared goal of driving global research and its dissemination.

According to the introduction, based on the principle of diversity, members of the China Academic Advisory Board will rotate every three years to ensure the continuous absorption of fresh perspectives and insights. Meanwhile, groups such as early-career researchers and female scientists are fully represented on the board.

In this regard, Skipper stated that the more diverse the scientific community is, the better and more comprehensive the scientific output becomes. Therefore, diversity in all aspects is very important; for instance, the advisory board brings together representatives from various disciplines. Additionally, there is a clear trend of the private sector increasingly taking an interest in and engaging in scientific research, a form of diversity that is also reflected in the advisory board.

"We also invited some early-career researchers to participate in the first forum. This is because they have very unique concerns and face different challenges and opportunities."

"Research is actually a social, human endeavor that only flourishes when there is cooperation. This cooperation should be the broadest possible interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral, and global collaboration," Skipper said.

2. China’s Scientific Progress is Immense and Will Grow Further

In fact, Springer Nature has a long history of cooperation with China. Its flagship journal, Nature, published a 24-page China supplement as early as 1985, focusing on Chinese scientific development issues, including the science and higher education systems under reform and science popularization efforts. The group’s Springer publishing house has been publishing academic books for Chinese scientists, including Hua Luogeng ^[2], in overseas markets since 1981.

"In my more than 20 years of editorial work, I have consistently followed China's progress in scientific research and its contributions to global research," Skipper pointed out. She noted that the group has cooperated with Chinese researchers for many years. "The development of Chinese research is impressive and continues to grow. I have seen a significant elevation in both the research objectives and the outcomes of Chinese researchers across all disciplines."

"About 20 years ago, I focused on genetics and genomics. At that time, I saw Chinese research in these disciplines flourishing at an amazing speed. Today, I am delighted to see that China has also made huge progress in disciplines such as materials science, chemical engineering, and medical research. I expect this trend will continue to strengthen in the future," she said.

On the Nature Index 2024 Research Leaders list released by Springer Nature in June this year, China continued to hold the top spot and further expanded its lead. Skipper said: "The data speaks for itself very clearly. In terms of both the quantity and quality of research papers, China is currently in a leading position in the world. An increasing number of papers in Nature are authored by Chinese researchers."

Skipper believes that China’s sustained investment in scientific research is translating into rapid growth in high-quality research output. She said: "The Chinese government has provided substantial funding to support research development. At the same time, Chinese researchers have been participating in global research cooperation for many years; many have gone abroad for training and established partnerships with researchers worldwide. Through this cooperation, both sides grow and benefit together."

Skipper further pointed out: "There are currently many examples showing that Chinese research is becoming increasingly mature. Many projects have shifted from being driven by international cooperation in the past toward indigenous, autonomous development—in some cases being carried out entirely within China. Chinese research projects are becoming increasingly high-end, the visibility of papers published by researchers is growing, and their influence on the global research community is expanding."

3. Shaping Open and Trustworthy Scientific Research

"For my part, I hope to see the research community achieve broader and more open cooperation in the near future. Open cooperation here means that data and information can flow in all directions during collaboration. There is ample evidence that open, shared, and transparent science not only accelerates the research process but also helps build trust in science among people outside the research community." When discussing what kind of global research community Springer Nature hopes to help shape, Skipper repeatedly mentioned two keywords: "open" and "trustworthy."

For years, Springer Nature has been committed to promoting the practice of open access and open research. Open access is closely linked to open data; research data should also be open, accessible, and reusable to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery.

"Data, code, and experimental protocols are all essential components of modern research; they explain how scientific conclusions are reached. Therefore, we always require authors to state whether the research data is fully public. If it is not, they should explain how other researchers interested in following up can find this data," Skipper further stated. "Of course, open research must also be practiced fairly and cautiously. Some researchers in Global South countries worry that after sharing data, other better-equipped teams will take over the analysis and advance the research at a faster pace. Therefore, the generators and collectors of data must receive appropriate recognition for their contributions. Furthermore, data must be shared in a way that protects personal privacy and complies with local laws, fulfilling UNESCO's requirements for open data and open science—that is, being 'as open as possible, and as closed as necessary.'"

In June this year, Nature also announced a major reform measure to further practice its commitment to enhancing research transparency. Starting from June 16, all original research articles newly submitted to Nature, if selected for publication, will automatically undergo transparent peer review. When a paper is published, the peer review reports and the author's responses are made public alongside it, increasing the visibility of scientific discussion and strengthening the principles of open science.

Regarding this, Skipper explained that the review of research papers by peers before publication is an indispensable part of rigorous research communication. Peer review aims to improve papers and help authors make their arguments more robust. However, these discussions between authors and reviewers, conducted under editorial guidance, were rarely made public or reported. Making peer review documents public makes the scientific publishing process transparent, which benefits the scientific community. On one hand, early-career researchers can obtain excellent learning opportunities to understand how interactions between authors and reviewers unfold. On the other hand, this is also very important for the broader public. Today, in some countries, a huge amount of misinformation spreads through social media, leading to a growing loss of public trust in science. Gaining a deep understanding of how scientific research works is vital for building trust.

4. Actively Responding to the Challenges of Artificial Intelligence

Currently, AI technology is developing rapidly and has already had a broad impact on scientific research and academic publishing. Skipper believes that AI is undoubtedly bringing a revolution to research. Today, AI can assist in generating and filtering research hypotheses, supporting modeling, enhancing analysis, generating synthetic data for model training, and even helping to construct papers. How publishers evaluate and guide researchers in the transparent use of AI during manuscript preparation is an important issue.

"We have very specific guidelines for our journals. One very clear requirement is that AI cannot be an author or co-author of a paper. This is because AI lacks autonomy and cannot take responsibility or bear the consequences for the paper or the research conducted," she said. If AI is simply used for copy-editing or helping non-native English speakers polish their text, then it does not need to be declared in the paper. However, if AI is used in a more complex way as a research tool, it must be declared in the submitted paper.

At the same time, AI is gradually being applied in the editorial and publishing workflows of academic journals. "AI has become a very useful tool in detecting academic misconduct. Springer Nature has developed several tools to detect non-standard phrases, nonsensical text, image duplication or manipulation, and irrelevant references in journal and book submissions, preventing them from entering the review and publishing process before editors further consider them or they are actually published." Skipper stated that, in fact, many image-related problems are caused unintentionally by researchers who have not received proper training; therefore, these tools can be used not only to detect academic misconduct but also as educational tools. "AI tools are extremely valuable, but like any other tool, AI should be used with full understanding, responsibility, and caution, because any tool can be used to cause negative consequences."

(Reporter: Yang Yifu) Source: Guangming Daily (September 25, 2025, Page 14) Web Editor: Huihui