STM’s annual Innovator Fair is back, and we’re seeking trailblazers and pioneers developing fresh solutions to transform scholarly communications. This year’s event takes place December 9, 2025, at BMA House in London as the opening day of STM’s Innovation & Integrity Days. 

What We’re Looking For
Whether you’re a startup or established company, we want to hear from you if you’re developing technologies that advance trusted research. This year’s theme is Building Tomorrow’s Research Integrity Framework, but we welcome innovations across all areas of scholarly communication. 

“The Innovator Fair has become one of our most exciting annual events because it brings together the people actually building the future of scholarly publishing,” said Hylke Koers, Chief Information Officer at STM Solutions. “We see incredible energy when innovative companies get face-time with the decision-makers who can help bring their solutions to market. It’s where partnerships are born and the industry moves forward.”

Why This Matters
At STM, we champion the technologists, startups, and companies advancing trusted research. Every December, we gather to celebrate the changemakers using technology and innovation to strengthen scholarly communication and better serve the academic community. 

Selected innovators get access to a room full of publishers, societies, university presses, and industry leaders who are actively looking for solutions. Think lightning talks, interactive booths, pre-scheduled meetings, and plenty of networking time. 

Plus, you’ll experience the prestigious Vesalius Innovation Award ceremony, organized by Karger Publishers, celebrating outstanding advancements from young entrepreneurs and startups. 

The Process
Here’s how it works: 

• Submit your innovation by September 30, 2025 (applications close soon!)
• Get selected – we’ll notify chosen presenters by October 11 
• Go public – we announce participating organizations on October 13 
• Present and connect – pitch your concept on December 9 to an engaged audience of industry leaders 

We evaluate submissions based on impact, creativity, adaptability, and novelty. We’re looking for concepts that could genuinely transform how scholarly publishing works. 

Ready to Apply?
The application is straightforward – just basic company info and a 120-word description of your innovation. If selected, there’s a €150 participation fee.

Apply here. 

Questions? Reach out to Hylke Koers at Hylke@stm-solutions.org. 

About STM Innovation & Integrity Days
This premier two-day event (formerly STM Week) brings together the publishing industry’s innovators and integrity experts. It’s where we explore the breakthroughs transforming scholarly communication and dive deep into the latest approaches to research integrity. 

The December 9-10 event at BMA House in London promises to be our most dynamic yet — kicking off with the Innovator Fair and continuing with deep-dive sessions on building stronger research integrity frameworks. 

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The Rosenblum Award for Scholarly Publishing Impact was created to recognize these game-changing advancements—the ideas, technologies, and standards that have reshaped scholarly communication. Not a person. Not a company. But impactful innovations that advance our industry.

For its crucial role in making research persistently discoverable and citable, the DOI for Scholarly Publishing — the Digital Object Identifier — has been named the award’s first recipient.

“The most transformative innovations in scholarly publishing are often the ones we take for granted—because they work so seamlessly,” said Caroline Sutton, CEO of STM. “The DOI for Scholarly Publishing is a perfect example. It has fundamentally changed how research is connected, cited, and discovered, making it a truly deserving recipient of the inaugural Rosenblum Award for Scholarly Publishing Impact.”

We are proud to have played a role in bringing this award to life through close collaboration with The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP), AUPresses, the National Information Standards Organization (NISO), and the Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP).

Most of all, this award carries forward the legacy of Bruce Rosenblum, a pioneer in scholarly publishing whose work on metadata, interoperability, and accessibility continues to shape the industry today.

Hear from the five collaborating partners in this brief video below — and learn more here.

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