Platform Features

What’s New in SciProfiles for 2026?

25 July 2026

Platform Features

What’s New in SciProfiles for 2026?

SciProfiles has been relaunched with a clear mission. It aims to help researchers build a verified academic identity, increase the visibility of their contributions, and make meaningful connections that advance science. The new platform has been redesigned around the evolving needs of the research community. While the previous version focused primarily on showcasing academic information, the new SciProfiles places greater emphasis on discoverability, networking, and recognition. This update introduces a range of enhancements designed to simplify profile management, improve engagement, and create more opportunities for collaboration. In this article, we explore the vision behind the redesign. We also highlight the key features that make the new SciProfiles a more powerful platform for researchers. The vision behind the redesign The redesign is built on three core principles. First, SciProfiles enables researchers to create a comprehensive academic profile that accurately reflects their achievements. By providing a centralised space for scholarly information, researchers can present themselves with confidence across a range of academic and professional contexts. Second, the platform supports a trusted community of verified researchers. Verification helps ensure the credibility of profiles while making it easier for users to identify experts and connect with peers in their field. Third, SciProfiles is designed to facilitate meaningful academic networking. Researchers can be discovered more easily, exchange ideas through in-app messaging, and build connections that extend beyond conferences and other in-person events. The platform serves as a digital extension of academic networking, helping researchers maintain and expand their professional relationships throughout the year. Key enhancements in the latest release Several new features have been introduced to make profile management easier and provide a more complete representation of each researcher’s academic contributions. Automated Data Synchronisation Maintaining an accurate academic profile can be time-consuming, particularly when information must be entered manually. To address this, SciProfiles is introducing automated synchronisation for MDPI awards. Rather than requiring users to add award information themselves, eligible awards will be imported automatically. This reduces administrative effort, improves data accuracy, and ensures profiles remain up to date with minimal maintenance. Universal Contribution Builder Academic contributions extend far beyond a single publisher or organisation. In previous versions of SciProfiles, editorial activities were largely limited to MDPI-related roles, which did not always reflect the full scope of a researcher’s experience. The new Universal Contribution Builder allows researchers to record editorial positions and activities from external organisations, including major publishers and professional societies. By capturing a broader range of contributions, SciProfiles now provides a more complete picture of a scholar’s professional impact and service to the research community. Instant-Credit Logic Researchers often experience delays between submitting information and seeing it reflected on their profile. These delays can create a temporary mismatch between actual achievements and visible profile metrics. With the new Instant-Credit Logic, publication counts update immediately when new work is added. Once the submission has been verified, a verification badge is added to confirm its authenticity. This approach provides researchers with immediate recognition while maintaining trust and data integrity across the platform. Instant Research Highlights Visitors often form an impression of a profile within seconds. To make important information more accessible, SciProfiles now displays researchers’ achievements at the top of each profile. Statistics such as total publications, contributions, and impact are immediately visible without requiring users to navigate through multiple tabs. This makes profiles easier to evaluate and helps researchers communicate their academic achievements more effectively. How the new features empower researchers Beyond profile enhancements, the new SciProfiles includes features designed to improve discoverability and encourage meaningful engagement. Context-Aware Researcher Recommendations Finding new collaborators often depends on existing networks, making it difficult to discover relevant researchers outside one’s immediate field. To address this challenge, SciProfiles now provides context-aware recommendations. Rather than relying solely on manual searches, the platform suggests relevant scholars at key moments of the user’s journey, such as onboarding or content exploration. These recommendations help researchers expand their networks, discover new expertise, and uncover potential collaborations that may not have emerged through traditional search methods alone. Streamlined Search Experience The redesign applies the principle that simplicity improves usability. The previous platform included numerous filters and options that could make navigation more complicated than necessary. The new interface focuses on three core content categories: Scholars, Publications, and Posts. By prioritising the areas that users engage with most frequently, SciProfiles reduces complexity and enables researchers to find information more quickly and efficiently. In-Feed Content Discovery High-quality content is most valuable when it is easy to find. Previously, the platform placed blog content in a separate section, which made it less visible to many users. SciProfiles now integrates blog content directly into the main feed through dedicated content cards. This allows researchers to discover articles, insights, and updates naturally as they browse the platform, increasing exposure to valuable information without requiring additional navigation. Improvements that streamline user interaction The latest release introduces several enhancements that create a smoother, more engaging user experience. More Relevant Notifications Notifications are most effective when they provide clear and actionable information. The updated notification system prioritises direct interactions, such as replies to a user’s comment, rather than generic activity alerts. By providing greater context, these notifications make it easier for researchers to continue conversations and participate in ongoing discussions. Expanded Sharing Options and Faster Registration SciProfiles now supports content sharing on WeChat and Reddit, helping researchers reach wider academic communities across different regions and interest groups.   The platform also supports ORCID login, significantly simplifying the registration process. By reducing the steps required to create an account, SciProfiles makes it easier for new users to join and begin building their academic profile. Simplified Notification Management Managing large volumes of notifications can quickly become overwhelming. The new SciProfiles improves usability by grouping related notifications. You can create a single notification category for likes and bookmarks associated with the same publication. Notification settings have also been simplified, giving users greater control over their communication preferences while reducing complexity. Looking ahead The 2026 relaunch marks an important step in the evolution of SciProfiles. The platform now combines verified academic identities, improved discoverability, streamlined profile management, and enhanced networking tools, making it better equipped to support researchers throughout their academic journey. As the research landscape evolves, SciProfiles will continue to develop new features based on community feedback, ensuring it remains a valuable platform for showcasing expertise, building connections, and supporting scientific collaboration. Join SciProfiles today and discover new opportunities to share your work, expand your network, and grow your academic presence.
Jessica DaviesJessica Davies
Jessica Davies

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What is ORCID (and Why Should You Use It)?

11 July 2024

Navigating Your CareerPlatform Features

What is ORCID (and Why Should You Use It)?

Since the ORCID program was launched in 2012, it has become an essential resource for academic publishing. With over 14 million registrations currently, ORCID has increased digital accessibility, enabling more streamlined management of scholarly communication across disciplines. While you may be generally familiar with the term, you might still be wondering, “What is ORCID exactly?” This article will define and explain more about what the ORCID iD is and the benefits of registering. It will also provide a step-by-step guide to signing up and linking your OCRCID to your SciProfiles account. What is ORCID? The amount of academic research available online is tremendous. Especially with the mainstreaming of open access academic publishing, scholars need tools to help store and manage their own academic materials and to make them accessible to others. The ORCID system is a centralized catalogue that allows readers to easily access research from throughout a scholar’s career. Essentially, it helps others to find your academic research and you to find theirs. ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID, or ORCID iD) is a free, unique, persistent identifier that stores an individual’s academic outputs, all in one virtual location. The Open Researcher Contributor Identification Initiative was developed to ensure that credit for academic work is attributed properly. In particular, the repetition of names in the academic community globally can make it very difficult to distinguish whose work is whose. In addition, any name changes during a person’s lifetime, which can happen for a lot of different reasons, can further the confusion. Registering ensures that the same ORCID iD follows you, even if you change names, institutions, or geographic locations. This way, the system ensures that the right people are getting credit for their work. You don’t have to worry about trying to keep track of everything manually or about transferring over your information if you change affiliations. Why should you use ORCID? Now that we’ve answered the question of “What is ORCID?”, we will consider why you register for one and use it in your scholarly communications. Given the acceleration of open science and open access publishing globally, academic research is more accessible to the public than ever. With increases in open access mandates from governments and publicly funded research institutes, more people than ever are engaging with scientific research. The ORCID system ensures that authors can be properly identified and their work attributed to them. Once you register, you will receive an ORCID iD number that you can share with others. The ORCID system makes academic research more accessible and discoverable, which enhances potential reach and impact. In addition to your digital name identifier, with your registration, you will also receive an electronic ORCID record. This is like an extended CV and includes, for example, a short biography, education and employment history, publications, professional activities and associations, and funding received. The record is a living document of your career that you update as you gain experience and achievements. Using your ORCID account also reduces the labour of manually filling out forms and sharing data between different documents and datasets. It helps you to manage your work across different institutions, workflows, and online platforms. Register with ORCID If you are a scholar publishing in your field, you’ll know that getting your work out into the world is an exciting and challenging process. Linking your research to your professional webpage and social networking sites is a simple way to ensure that your work is accessible. It’s quick, easy, and free to register. Link your ORCID iD to SciProfiles Once you have registered, you can begin linking your ORCID to the different platforms you use. To include ORCID on your SciProfiles page specifically, use the simple steps below: Log on to SciProfiles. Click on the small gear icon (⚙) at the top right corner of the screen. Choose “Edit My Profile” to go to your Basic Info page. Click “Verify ORCID”. Log in to your ORCID account and authorize MDPI to access it. Your ORCID is now linked to your page, like a “one-stop shop” for your research materials. As you continue with your academic and publication journey on SciProfiles, this will make it easier for others to follow along and access your work. And, if others ever ask you, “What is ORCID?”, now you can share what you know. Last updated on: July 25, 2026
Zoë GrossZoë Gross
Zoë Gross

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Why You Need A Profile Picture (and How to Upload One)

06 June 2024

Platform Features

Why You Need A Profile Picture (and How to Upload One)

Every time you start a new social media account, one of the first things you will be asked to do is upload a profile picture. Given just how many people may view your profiles online, it’s worth it to take a bit of time to select the image that will best represent you. Today in 2026, using social media for virtual networking is a big part of our personal and professional lives. More and more, we have to consider our online presence and how we would like to present ourselves to others. This article will explain why a profile picture is important and why you need one. It will also provide some ideas on how you can choose the best one for your account and target audience. It will also go through the steps for how to upload a profile picture for your SciProfiles account. Why uploading a profile picture is important As academic virtual networking platforms have expanded, it has created new opportunities for researchers to connect and share ideas. Maintaining an active account on popular academic online platforms helps to build relationships and community that further the reach and impact of scientific research. But with so many profiles and information online, you only have a second or two to make a first impression. Virtual networking helps scholars to get a sense of who a person is based on their social media. So, the image you choose becomes the representation of you, your online presence, and your in-person work. Simply having a profile photo uploaded indicates to others that you are a “real” person (not a bot) who welcomes engagement. This can make the difference between someone clicking on your profile or scrolling past it. In addition, not uploading a profile picture communicates a lack of effort, which is not something you want others to associate with you and your work. Having a good online profile picture helps to draw in people you hope to connect with. It can generate more page views and more meaningful engagement. A consistent and strong online presence can translate into goodwill in other contexts. The so-called “halo” effect, for example, suggests that presenting yourself as confident and sure in yourself can make others view you more positively in general. This also helps with your public presence, as others are more easily able to recognize you, whether online or in person. It gets your face out there, making it easier for people to approach you if they spot you at an academic event. What makes a good online profile photo When virtual networking or using social media, you might already have a photo or two that you regularly use. Or maybe you are looking to change it up and create something new. Either way, here are some suggestions for how to create a good profile picture. A good profile picture should be a good-quality image of yourself that presents you as a friendly and approachable person. This will help to communicate that you are welcoming of engagement. It should help the viewer to make a more personal and authentic connection with you. The key is to be intentional with how you present yourself. You want to make the right impression with the right people. When thinking about what image might represent you best, consider the likely thousands of profiles that you have viewed online over the years. What draws you to some over others? Which images appeal to you the most and why? Assessing your own perceptions can help you to understand how others may respond to you. Depending on the platform and the specific context, it’s a good idea to have a couple of different profile photos available to upload. You can tailor your profile photo to the specific context or target audience. A professional, polished image for your boss, and something more personal or sentimental for your social network. You may already have a professional headshot taken for academic purposes that you can upload as a profile picture. Some institutions have professional headshots taken of scholars under various circumstances or at official events. But in most cases, you are on your own in terms of planning and execution. If you don’t have any good options yet, don’t panic. With today’s technology, you can likely put together a profile picture to upload pretty quickly using your phone, tablet, digital camera, or another device. How to upload a profile picture to SciProfiles When you first register with SciProfiles and activate your account, you will be prompted to upload a profile picture. It takes under a minute to do if you already have a photo chosen and ready to go. You can set up your profile picture in just a few simple steps: Sign in to your SciProfiles account. Click your avatar on the top left of the “Home” or “My Profile” page. Select “Upload Photo” to select the photo you have chosen (maximum allowable size of 5.12 MB). Select “Apply” to upload the photo to your profile. Once you have done this, your profile photo should be immediately visible. You can now start checking your profile and posting content on your page. Going forward, you can upload a new profile picture at any time. Hopefully this article has given you some direction on how to take some photos for a new account, or to spruce up the pages you already use. Last updated on: July 25, 2026
Zoë GrossZoë Gross
Zoë Gross

2074