Senior Product Designer, Academia

The company has had a chequered relationship with the academics it proposes to serve (and the institutions it intends to disrupt). Some claim the new paywalled suite of features runs counter to the free and open-access model; others baulk at its use of the .edu domain usually reserved for academic institutions (they registered before its use became restricted).

To overcome these obstacles, the platform continues to evolve as a key player for researchers. With future plans to launch high-impact open-access journals, develop an advanced paper recommendation system, and increase daily academic engagement. It's an exciting future, however, only time will tell how these new developments will be received.