From Assessment to Impact: Institutional Open Publishing at Innopharma Education

Abstract

Innopharma Insights is an institutionally led, open-access journal that bridges learner assessment and authentic scholarly communication. The initiative demonstrates the viability of peer-reviewed, student-authored publishing within higher education, establishing a sustainable pathway from classroom evaluation to published research. Since 2024, the journal has published 20 articles across two volumes, featuring contributions from learners in pharmaceutical, life sciences, and technology programmes. The project employs a developmental, manuscript-led editorial process with multi-stage author support, ensuring scholarly rigor while maintaining accessibility. Key outcomes include elevated learner scholarship, embedding of professional communication skills in the curriculum, zero article rejection charges (full open access under CC-BY-4.0), and measurable institutional capacity building in editorial practice. Findings reveal that the greatest barrier to open publishing for learners is not quality of work but the absence of supported, explicitly scaffolded editorial systems. This initiative contributes to open education scholarship while demonstrating how institutional publishing can support student-centred, research-informed pedagogy and professional development. Presentations at the HEA Open Education conference, CONUL, and sector partnerships position Innopharma Insights as a model for sustainable institutional publishing in higher education.