Open Access publishing
The Karl Landsteiner University offers a wide range of services to support authors in the process of Open Access publishing.
To benefit from this service, please contact the Library Services team at bibliothek@kl.ac.at before submitting your manuscript. The team will check that the formal criteria are met to ensure that the costs are covered.
The Karl Landsteiner University has established eight publishing agreements that allow klu authors to publish in renowned journals without additional costs.
The following general conditions apply:
- Please contact bibliothek@kl.ac.at before submitting the manuscript.
- The corresponding author is affiliated to klu at the time of submission. If there is more than one corresponding author, the submitting author must also be the submitting author.
- The affiliations of the klu authors are clearly indicated and comply with the Affiliation Policy.
IWA (International Water Association)
Eligible Corresponding Authors are usually recognised by the correct indication of the klu affiliation and/or the klu e-mail address.
In addition to the above-mentioned publishing agreements, open access publications in journals of other publishers can also be funded. The Librarian Services team will check whether the planned publication is eligible for funding from the klu Publication Fund after contacting bibliothek@kl.ac.at.
Discounted APCs (Article Processing Charges) with the open access publishers Frontiers and MDPI can also be financed via the Publication Fund.
The following basic requirements apply:
- Contact bibliothek@kl.ac.at before submitting the manuscript.
- The corresponding author has a valid klu affiliation at the time of submission. If there are several corresponding authors, the applicant must also be the submitting author.
- The affiliations of the klu authors are clearly indicated and comply with the Affiliation Policy.
- No separate project funds (third-party funds) are available for publication costs.
- The APC of the article does not exceed €3,000 incl. tax.
- The final funding approval is at the discretion of Karl Landsteiner University.
klu has established a co-operation with the renowned Gold Open Access publisher Frontiers through an institutional membership, in which Frontiers grants klu a 10% discount on the APC. When submitting the article, the corresponding author selects the "Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences" as "institutional payer" in the "invoice section" of Frontiers. It is also recommended to use the klu e-mail address when submitting the article.
Through klu's consortial agreement with MDPI, the publisher grants klu a discount of 20% when accepting the APC. Eligible corresponding authors are recognised by the correct indication of the affiliation. It is also advisable to use the klu e-mail address when submitting.
As a signatory to the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Scientific Knowledge, the Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences (klu) supports processes to promote the transition from subscription-based publication models to Open Access-based publication channels.
The klu considers it a social obligation to make the publications of its researchers free of charge, unrestricted and freely available on the Internet.
The electronic form of publication enables new forms of scientific communication, knowledge networking and knowledge transfer. In the "Open Science Movement", scientists share their findings and data, sometimes in real-time, with one another and with the public [1].
Open Access also gives those people and institutions access to research results who did not previously have that or were unable to finance it. This presents a high social value, especially for knowledge-intensive professional fields such as doctors and health professions.
The klu would therefore like to motivate its researchers to make their publications freely accessible by publishing them in peer-reviewed Open Access journals [2].
The klu preferably promotes the "golden way" or gold Open Access (this means that the article appears free of charge and freely accessible as soon as it is published, without a full-text embargo [3]), especially through agreements and collaborations with publishers [4], but also by providing an Open Access Publication Fund in which the klu pays the Open Access publication fees or APC [5] for publications in high-ranking specialist journals, in compliance with certain criteria. The klu is also happy to advise its researchers on finding suitable gold Open Access journals for their publication.
Advice is also offered when publishing on the so-called "green way" of Open Access (secondary publication in repositories). The "hybrid way" (the "buying out" of individual articles in subscription-based journals) is also promoted in individual cases and after careful examination of alternative publication options. In any case, hybrid Open Access publishing is permitted if it is done within the framework of a publishing agreement. [6]
Through targeted financial support for gold Open Access publications, participation in or negotiation of Open Access publishing agreements (for gold and hybrid Open Access) as well as consultation and assistance with secondary publishing (green Open Access), the klu also provides Plan S-compliant Open Access publishing for its researchers [7].
In the interests of good scientific practice, the klu also supports its researchers in the Open Access publication of their research data. A separate research data policy is in preparation [8].
07.05.2021
[1] OANA OA recommendations [14.11.2025]
[2] If the guidelines of the funding agencies allow, APCs are to be included in the project budget in the context of third-party projects.
[3] "Full text embargo" means that full texts of articles are only freely accessible after a certain period of time.
[4] These are predominantly "Publish & Read" agreements: these are consortial contracts with publishers in which the university pays for access to published content ("Read"), as well as for the Open Access publication of its authors ("Publish").
[5] APC: Article Processing Charges
[6] see Library Services
[7] see: FWF Open-Access Policy for Peer-Reviewed Publications [14.11.2025]
[8] see: FWF Open-Access Policy for Research Data [14.11.2025]
