Springer Nature and the Higher Education Electronic Resources Consortium (KONSEPt) the Malaysian consortium for higher education and research institutions, have today announced the first national Transformative Agreement (TA) in Malaysia and among Southeast Asia countries. This landmark agreement demonstrates the increasing momentum across economies of all sizes for open access (OA) publishing, and the increasing global move to open science and research.
The agreement will enable researchers from all 20 of Malaysia’s public universities to publish their work OA in more than 2,000 hybrid journals across the Springer Nature portfolio. Simultaneously, students and faculty gain full reading access to more than 2,300 journal titles. With recent data from Springer Nature showing the immediate impact that TAs have on OA output, this agreement will better support affiliated researchers in publishing openly, expanding the capability, global visibility and impact of Malaysian research, and fostering greater international collaboration.
Antoine Bocquet, Vice President Sales Japan, Southeast Asia and Oceania and Managing Director of Springer Nature Japan, commented:
“This agreement marks a significant milestone—not only in the global transition to open science, but in demonstrating the vital role that TAs play as a sustainable and scalable model for all regions moving toward an OA future.
In recent years, we have seen a growing demand in Malaysia both in terms of downloads where content has been accessible, and in denials where it has not. Malaysia has already made significant progress towards achieving OA for its researchers with 57% of all Malaysian research already published OA by 2022. This agreement builds on that momentum, and we are extremely proud to partner with KONSEPt to support that journey.
We look forward to working with KONSEPt, deepening our shared commitment to a truly open future—one that we believe is essential to advancing scientific discovery and delivering real-world benefits for all.”
Datuk Professor Dr. Azlinda Azman, Director General of Higher Education said:
“This is a pivotal step in Malaysia’s commitment to open science and research transparency further enhancing international visibility, impact, and collaboration. This initiative supports the Ministry’s digitalisation and internationalisation agenda and the National Knowledge Infrastructure (NKI) framework.”
Representing the consortium, Ms. Mazmin Mat Akhir, Chairperson of KONSEPt, added:
“This TA reflects a new chapter for academic libraries not only in providing access to research but also in facilitating Open Access publishing. It empowers universities to enhance the impact of their research and strengthens global knowledge sharing initiatives.”
This agreement marks the seventh for Springer Nature within Asia, after Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan. The publisher signed its first TA in 2014 and now has over 80 TAs in place supporting researchers from over 3,700 institutions. Marking ten years since its first TA, this latest first and national agreement is testament to the depth and breadth of Springer Nature’s expertise in working with all partners to ensure OA can be a viable option for researchers regardless of location or discipline.
More information on Springer Nature’s wider commitment to OA and our full OA offerings can be found here.
