On Tuesday, May 5, 2026, the final webinar of the year was held to discuss the Open Access (OA) publishing conditions in Springer Nature journals under the TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM EKUAL agreement.

For those who missed the session or wish to review the updates regarding journal scope, acceptance criteria, and current quota status, the webinar recording can be accessed here.

TÜBİTAK – ULAKBİM and Springer Nature Read-and-Publish Agreement: Key Highlights

1. Eligibility (Author Requirements)

• Institutional Requirement: To receive Open Access support, the corresponding author must be an employee of an EKUAL member institution (e.g., IZTECH).

• Definition of Corresponding Author: The corresponding author is the primary contact person managing communication with the publisher, not necessarily the first author. If there are multiple corresponding authors, the primary one registered in the system is considered.

• Graduate Students: Master’s and PhD students who do not hold an official staff position at the institution cannot benefit from APC support if they are the corresponding author. However, if the student is the first author and their faculty supervisor serves as the corresponding author, the article remains eligible for APC support.

2. Scope of Journals and Publication Types

• Journal Groups: The agreement covers Springer Nature hybrid journals ranked in Q1 and Q2 according to Web of Science (SCIE, SSCI, and AHCI are accepted; ESCI is excluded).

• Publication Types: Only “Original Article,” “Review Article,” and “Continuing Education” types are supported.

• Special Case: The agreement primarily applies to hybrid journals. Support also extends to journals that were hybrid at the time of signing but transitioned to fully online during the agreement period.

  • Note: If APC support is unavailable in a hybrid journal, the article can still be published under the “closed access” (subscription) model. However, in fully online journals, if APC support is not granted, the authors are responsible for covering the publication fee.

3. Quota and Approval Process

• Annual Quota: The total national quota for all Turkish universities for 2026 is 3,094 articles.

• Current Status: Between January 1 and May 5, 2026, 2,076 articles have been approved.

• The Process: There is no specific quota allocation per individual institution. Approvals are granted by ULAKBİM on a first-come, first-served basis until the national quota is exhausted.

4. Useful Links and Guides

• Current Journal List: You may access the list of funded journals [here]. As this list is updated periodically, please verify it regularly via the official ULAKBİM website.

• For details regarding all Read-and-Publish agreements with Springer and other publishers, please refer to our Open Access Publishing Guide.