Open access publishing makes scientific and academic publications freely available online while ensuring respect for authors' rights and copyright. The University of Strasbourg offers a comprehensive range of services, from depositing publications in open repositories to promoting journals published by its researchers.
Depositing publications in the open access repository
The univoak-HAL portal is the open access repository of the University of Strasbourg, the National School for Water and Environmental Engineering of Strasbourg (ENGEES) and the National School of Architecture of Strasbourg (Ensas). It brings together the academic and scientific publications of their researchers across all disciplines and makes them freely available to readers worldwide.
Launched in 2025, univOAK-HAL builds on the university's former institutional repository, univOAK.
The platform follows a self-archiving model. Authors deposit their publications and upload the full text themselves. The repository provides free access to all content, with no financial or technical barriers.
The Library Management Office's Scientific Publications Team manages the univOAK-HAL platform and supports researchers throughout the deposit process, guiding them in sharing their publications and using the platform effectively.
Open access publishing in international journals
The University of Strasbourg's Library Management Office holds agreements that allow researchers to publish in international open access journals without paying publication fees. The national consortium Couperin negotiates these agreements on behalf of French higher education and research institutions, including the University of Strasbourg.
Learn more about open access publishing in international journals
Supporting scientific journals in their transition to open access
The Maison interuniversitaire des sciences de l’Homme – Alsace (MISHA) is home to a support centre for scientific publishing, known as the Ouvroir. This centre supports journals in their transition to open access publishing. It relies on the Paréo initiative, which helps journals transition to open access. This initiative hosts scientific journals that are committed to open science and run by editorial teams based in Alsace.
The Ouvroir also offers a range of services, including structuring content in XML Métopes, uploading journal issues via Lodel, distributing calls for papers, and digitising and converting older journal issues for online publication. These services support journals in their transition toward publication on OpenEdition Journals.
Learn more about Ouvroir’s services
The Ouvroir and the Presses universitaires de Strasbourg – the university's scientific publishing house – jointly lead the Hortus project, which supports open access publishing for journals and monographs. This project is funded by the French National Fund for Open Science.
Strengthen your editorial skills
If you are working on an academic journal or a digital publishing project within the university research community in Alsace, the Ouvroir can support you with expertise in open access publishing.
Get answers to questions about editorial quality standards, the legal framework for journals, eligibility criteria and how to join Paréo and OpenEdition. You can also learn about text formatting, tidying and XML structuring. Take part in training sessions and events to strengthen your editorial skills.
UnivOAK and the Ouvroir are part of a local network of players in open scientific publishing. All members of this network support university staff in academic and scientific publishing. UnivOAK and the Ouvroir help connect stakeholders and promote their services. They also guide academic staff and researchers. They contribute to working groups, national networks such as the Couperin consortium, Médici, Mir@bel and Repères, as well as joint projects. UnivOAK and the Ouvroir take part in the university’s training and publications operational committees to help advance ongoing projects and report to the university’s Open Science Steering Committee.