Asian Council of Science Editors

What Asian Council of Science Editors does

The Asian Council of Science Editors (ACSE) is a Dubai-based non-profit professional membership organization founded in 2010 to serve editors, publishers, journals, and researchers across the Asian scholarly publishing community. It operates a tiered membership model (Individual $50, Journal $100, Publisher $300, Corporate $1,500 per year) and a recurring annual conference cadence, with the 12th edition scheduled for August 2026 under the theme 'Rebuilding Trust in Scholarly Publishing'. ACSE positions itself as the first and foremost regional body dedicated to unifying Asian editors and scholars, addressing fragmentation, limited visibility for regional journals, and gaps in editorial training and research integrity frameworks.

The organization's core technology consists of two proprietary platforms: SciONE, a manuscript submission and peer review system designed to streamline editorial workflows, and IndexONE, a citation and indexing database launched in 2018 to give non-indexed and emerging Asian journals visibility and credibility. ACSE also publishes Trends in Scholarly Publishing (TSP), an open-access peer-reviewed journal, and runs the Editor's Café content platform for industry perspectives. Revenue is generated through membership subscriptions, conference registration fees (listener/speaker/industry tiers), and commercial licensing of SciONE and IndexONE. Distribution is self-service online plus virtual and in-person events anchored in Dubai, with conference attendance scaling from 180 participants in 2016 to over 400 in 2023.

ACSE is led by Secretary & Treasurer Muhammad Sarwar and Vice President Mingfang Lu (former IOP Publishing Editor-in-Chief), with a director and advisory bench drawn from SpringerNature, Wiley, De Gruyter, Bertelsmann, Elsevier, Hofstra University, UC San Diego, and Carnegie Mellon Qatar. The organization has cultivated partnerships with Crossref, ORCID, COPE, DOAJ, ISMTE, ReviewerCredits, ReviewerOne, and Contrimetric, and reports a network of 6,000+ members and 20+ corporate members including TrendMD, Sciendo, Ansinet, and ScienceAlert. No external funding, M&A activity, or patents are disclosed.

Name

Asian Council of Science Editors

Legal name

Asian Council of Science Editors

Website

https://theacse.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ACSE is a Dubai-based non-profit founded in 2010 that serves as the leading regional membership body for editors, publishers, and researchers in Asian scholarly publishing, offering tiered memberships, annual conferences, and proprietary platforms (SciONE, IndexONE) to a 6,000+ member network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services for Scholarly Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarly Society & Association Publishing (EDAGAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Open Access Scholarly Journals & Monographs (EDAGAFAJ), Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK)

Keywords

• Scholarly publishing services
• Professional membership association
• Editorial training programs
• Peer review systems
• Academic publishing networks

Headquarters

HQ city

Dubai

HQ country

United Arab Emirates

HQ region

Middle East

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: ACSE generates revenue through tiered membership subscriptions: Individual ($50/year), Journal ($100/year), Publisher ($300/year), and Corporate ($1500/year). Membership provides access to training, resources, networking, and publishing solutions.
2. Conference Registration: Revenue from annual conference registrations including listener ($0 member / $50 non-member), speaker ($100 member / $200 non-member), and industry slots ($200 member / $500 non-member).
3. Publishing Solutions: Commercial licensing and subscription fees for SciONE manuscript system and IndexONE indexing database offered to journals and publishers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

ACSE is a non-profit professional membership organization that advances scholarly publishing in Asia through tiered membership subscriptions (Individual, Journal, Publisher, Corporate), annual conferences and virtual events, editorial training programs, and proprietary publishing technology including the SciONE manuscript submission and peer review system and the IndexONE citation and indexing database. The organization also publishes the Trends in Scholarly Publishing (TSP) peer-reviewed open access journal and operates the Editor's Café content platform.

Product overview

ACSE's publishing solutions consist of two integrated digital platforms: SciONE, an advanced manuscript submission and peer review system, and IndexONE, a globally oriented citation and indexing database. Together, these products are designed to enhance journal visibility, optimize editorial workflows, and reinforce standards of research integrity and publishing excellence across Asia and the global research community. ACSE additionally operates the Editor's Café content platform and publishes its official peer-reviewed open access journal, Trends in Scholarly Publishing (TSP).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SciONE An advanced manuscript submission and peer review system designed to enhance journal visibility, optimize editorial workflows, and reinforce standards of research integrity for editors, publishers, and researchers.
• IndexONE A globally oriented citation and indexing database providing indexing solutions for established non-indexed and emerging journals, helping them enhance visibility, credibility, and global reach.
• Trends in Scholarly Publishing (TSP) ACSE's official peer-reviewed open access journal publishing cutting-edge research, reviews, and insights on scholarly communication and publishing with global reach and impact. Features fast, fair peer review, rapid online publication, open access with no page charges, and discoverability in leading databases.
• ACSE Membership Program Tiered annual membership program offered in four categories: Individual ($50/year) for researchers, editors, reviewers, consultants, librarians, and publishing professionals; Journal ($100/year) for scholarly journals; Publisher ($300/year) for publishing organizations; and Corporate ($1,500/year) for data providers, research organizations, technology firms, universities, library consortia, and professional service companies. Members receive training, resources, networking, publishing solutions access, and event participation.
• ACSE Annual Conference Annual conference for scholarly publishing professionals held in Dubai and virtually via Zoom, with registration tiers for listeners ($0 member / $50 non-member), speakers ($100 member / $200 non-member), and industry slots ($200 member / $500 non-member). Attracts hundreds of editors, publishers, researchers, and industry professionals per edition.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6,000+ editors, reviewers, and publishing professionals in network
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDOAJ is an independent online directory of open access journals. ACSE has collaborated with DOAJ for speaker sessions and training at annual conferences, with DOAJ Ambassadors engaging with Asian journal editors.
• COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCOPE is a global organization advancing ethics in scholarly publishing. COPE guidelines are referenced in ACSE training programs, and COPE council members participate in ACSE conferences.
• ISMTE (International Society of Managing and Technical Editors)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerISMTE is an international organization for editorial staff. ACSE collaborated with ISMTE for the 2018 Annual Conference, combining expertise in managing and technical editing.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals): DOAJ is an independent directory of open access journals that partners directly with ACSE for speaker sessions and training. Both serve the journal visibility and indexing needs of scholarly publishers, particularly regional and emerging journals.
• World Association of Medical Editors (WAME): WAME is a global, voluntary association of editors of peer-reviewed medical journals. Like ACSE, it focuses on editorial standards, ethics, and training for journal editors, serving an overlapping global scholarly publishing audience.
• European Association of Science Editors (EASE): EASE is the European counterpart to ACSE — a regional scholarly publishing association serving editors and publishers. ACSE Advisory Cabinet member Haseeb Irfanullah co-chairs an EASE committee, evidencing direct mission and audience alignment.
• International Society of Managing and Technical Editors (ISMTE): ISMTE is a direct peer membership association for editorial staff. ACSE explicitly collaborated with ISMTE for the 2018 Annual Conference, indicating overlapping mission, audience (editors/publishers), and event-driven community model.
• Council of Science Editors (CSE): CSE is a North American professional membership organization for science editors offering training, resources, and annual meetings. It serves the same editorial professional audience as ACSE with comparable membership tiers and educational programming.
• Open Science Asia: Open Science Asia is an Asia-focused open science advocacy organization of which ACSE Secretary & Treasurer Muhammad Sarwar is a founding member. Both serve the same Asian scholarly publishing and open access audience.
• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE): COPE is a global membership organization advancing ethics in scholarly publishing. COPE guidelines are referenced in ACSE training and COPE council members participate in ACSE conferences, making it a closely aligned mission-driven peer association.

Broad incumbents

• Enago (Crimson Interactive): Enago is a larger, established scholarly communications services company offering editing, translation, and publication support. ACSE VP Mingfang Lu was previously Enago's General Manager, evidencing adjacent business model overlap with ACSE's editorial training and publishing solutions.

Emerging players

• Crossref: Crossref is a publisher-led DOI and metadata infrastructure organization that actively engages with ACSE conferences. While not a peer membership association for editors, both serve the scholarly publishing infrastructure layer with overlapping constituents.
• ReviewerCredits: ReviewerCredits operates a peer review expert network. Its Managing Director Sven Fund is a Director of ACSE, evidencing deep organizational overlap in serving the peer review and reviewer recognition space of scholarly publishing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses2 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/the_acse
• YouTubeyoutube.com/TheACSEofficial
• Facebookfacebook.com/theacse
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/theacse

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Asian Council of Science Editors