Academic Publication Council

Proceeding from the objectives of the Council, and following assigned terms and specialties, the Council hosted and conducted many activities and events during the academic year of 2020 / 2021. Summarized as follow:

 1) In the Area of ​​Issuing Volumes and Publications

With the intention to better support the Arab and international library and enrich them with a variety of research studies and literature, and in order to provide opportunities for scientific publishing and arbitrators; from September 1^st 2020, until August 31^st 2021the Academic Publication Council published 64 journals, a total of 60090 copies altogether.

 

The Council also published 11 books by authors of the Authorship, Translation & Publication Committee, a total of 11,000 copies as follows:

 

The different journals and numerous editions were published according to the highest levels of accuracy in technical and formal aspects in order to create an intellectual climate that contributes to the building of the academic vision on various issues.

In addition; the number of collective research contributions (2 or more researchers) in periodical publications increased to 230 papers out of 464 papers, which indicates the journals' success in supporting joint research work, and leads to the opening up of various research schools.

 2) In the Area of Contained Research Resources and Situation Publication

With the view to disseminating a highly specialized knowledge in the best interest of the academic community, decision makers and readers and other stakeholders in general, scientific journals and Authorship, Translation and Publication Committee solicited and received 4714 papers, this is the highest number in the history of the Council since its inception in 1986 with an increase of 1236 research compared to the previous year, in different disciplines from many countries.

Scholarly journals have observed high standards in calling for papers in an environment of a proliferation of scholarly peer review publication channels. This demonstrates the high creditability scholars have attached to the work of the council. Its publications are appreciated in the field and have witnessed renowned recognition in the academic community.

The number of rejected studies amplified to 76.60%, in comparison to the 8.31% of studies that were approved. This increase of rejected studies has a positive connotation, the higher percentage of rejected studies help maintain the value of the scientific journals. This is accomplished by filtering out any limited studies, and only approving studies that meet all of the required academic standards. Moreover, the rate of the published research reached 1% of the total research received. This is an indication of the length of the waiting list in the publication, which obviously reflects the intensity of demand for publication in Kuwait University.

In addition, the Academic Publication Council published a considerable amount of journals by researchers outside of Kuwait, compared to studies done by the faculty members of Kuwait University. The Academic Publication Council no longer depends solely on the research done by the University of Kuwait, as it did in the early years of the council; instead, it now demands attention from outside of Kuwait. Currently, the Academic Publication Council drew 4326 studies from outside of Kuwait University, which equals 91.8% of all published journals, and within Kuwait it published 388 journals, which is 8.2% of all published journals. This is a positive indication of the meaning of civilization, and the position of these scientific journals abroad, reflects the accomplishments of the University of Kuwait, and the genuine exercise of the role of Kuwait leading to the cultural and scientific arena.

 3) In the Area of Refereed Research and Books:

 The Academic Publication Council upholds a high level of standards in terms of mandatory research requirements, to verify the quality of each study before its publication. Therefore, the Scientific Journal and the Authorship, Translation & Publication Committee hired 2137 academic arbitrators from different specialties and various countries.

In addition, the Committee made certain that 82.83% of the arbitrators were from outside of Kuwait. Such measures are taken to rule out any type of bias, and to encourage researchers to publish literature in the University of Kuwait. The Scientific Journal and the Authorship, Translation & Publication Committee also required an average of 33.3 days for the arbitration. This has helped in the adoption of electronic correspondence as a means of communication between the Journals and arbitrators on several occasions.

4) In the Area of Attainment of Databases:

In an effort to increase the profile of the scientific journals published by the Academic Publication Council and in order to make them available in digital format for a wide sector of researchers and academics around the world, as well as the financial revenue that will be achieved, the Academic Publication Council contracted with Dar Al-Mandumah Company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is the most important and the largest database in the Arab world. In addition, they contracted with the American company EBSCO which is considered the most famous international database. Both Companies market scientific journals on a global scale amongst universities and scientific and cultural institutions.

The accession of scientific journals in Kuwait University to these bases is a step which opened the doors for the inclusion of scientific studies published in the journals of the Academic Publication Council on the rules of digital information; it has become a huge source of reference that provides electronic connectivity which allows access to research and studies for the benefit of teachers, researchers and experts.

Within one year; starting from the first of October 2020 until the end of September 2021, 158733 research and studies were downloaded from the Academic Publication Council. This number exceeded the size of expectation which no doubt is an eloquent indicator to the high position of the magazines growth interest and demand that confirms the confidence of the reader. The Council is keen to highlight the role of the university and its contribution in providing the scientific research arena serious and in-depth studies to paint a clear picture of the status of academic publishing in Kuwait University, a position that won the respect and appreciation, and no doubt it is a source of pride.

  5) In the Field of Enhancing the Academic Impact Factor:

The Scientific Journals are classified as well based on citation of other research through the impact factor for a given year. This is the number of times that the research published in journals issues for the last two years divided by the total number of journals research for both years. It was pointed out to Kuwait Journal of Science as a reference in other scientific journals reaching an impact factor of 0.948%, and the Journal of Engineering Research impact factor of 0.64%. Efforts are being doubled to enhance this factor, which is through an increase of the academic content of both websites of the journals on the internet, expanding distributions among university and research institution libraries.

Furthermore, all of the Academic Publication Council Journals are registered and available in the Arabic Digital Database (eMarfa), and some magazines have obtained the Arabic Citation & Impact Factor accreditation, which are compatible with international standards. This indicates the growing interest and academic appreciation for the reference of the journals of the Academic Publication Council, allowing them to spread more widely, and attracting more citations.

 6) University Book Project:

The aim of providing college books with high specifications and advantages compared to those textbooks to similar decisions in prestigious universities and contains the latest information in the field of specialization. In a series of university books assigned over to the Academic Publication Council to oversee and with the help of the Authorship, Translation & Publication Committee six new books were issued and five books were reprinted this year:

 New Books:

 

Reprinted University Textbooks:

 

 7) In the Field of Scientific Seminars and workshops through Online:

In response to the contemporary issues of local, regional, and keep abreast of current developments and changes, and opportunities to participate in the academic community linking the existing problems, and to contribute to finding appropriate solutions, the Academic Publication journals organized online workshops and scientific seminars as follows:

·         “The Implementation of R Language in Educational Researches” , 21/3/2021

)The Educational Journal)

 

·          “SEM Apps in Educational Researches with the Use of AMOS Program” , 6/4/2021

)The Educational Journal)

 

·          “Qualitative data analysis in Educational Research” , 18/5/2021

(The Educational Journal)

 

·          “An Introduction to the Blended Curriculum in Educational Research” , 18/5/2021

)The Educational Journal)

 

8) In the Field of Journals Special Issues:

·         Arab Journal of the Humanities: “Pandemics throughout History” 2021.

 

·         Journal of Law: “Special Issue about COVID-19 Pandemic” 2021.

 

·         Journal of Law: “Readings in American Criminal Law”2021.

 

·         Journal of Engineering Research: “1st International Conference On Energy, Materials Sciences and Mechanical Engineering EMSME-2020”.

 

·         Journal of Engineering Research: “3rd t International Conference On Recent Innovations In Engineering ICRIE-2020” 2021.