As an EPS Associate Member, EDP Sciences enjoys every opportunity to support and participate in EPS events. Isabelle Auffret-Babak, Senior Publisher, recently returned from two wonderful days in Naples where the EPS Young Minds Leadership Meeting 2023 took place. It was hosted by PONYS – Naples Young Minds (Physics and Optics Naples Young Students) and attracted around 100 participants.

On the second day, in a stunning church setting, a panel discussion took place on the theme of “new world, new publishing”. Isabelle took part in the round table together with:

• Davide Migliorini, Editor, Springer
• Emiliano Descrovi, President-elect of the European Optical Society and Professor at the Politecnico di Torino
• Vincenzo D’Ambrosio, Experimental Physics Researcher at “Ettore Pancini” Physics Department of the University of Naples
• Gabriella Bosco, Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Journal of Lightwave Technology and Professor at the Politecnico di Torino
• Gabriella Cincotti, Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Photonics Journal and Professor at the Università Roma Tre
• Yann Amouroux, Director Europe, OPTICA (formerly OSA)

The main themes were:

• Current challenges (the sustainability of open access models for not-for-profit publishers, predatory publishers, the relevance of publishing negative results in science, interactions between publishers/institutions/learned societies/universities)
• AI and future challenges

“I was particularly impressed by the high quality of the presentations throughout the meeting and appreciated the company of the EPS Young Minds,“ commented Isabelle Auffret-Babak. “The organisers were spot on in identifying current issues and challenges in scientific publishing. Grazie mille to PONYS for hosting an excellent event.”