In this post, we give a snapshot of educational initiatives in 2025 and share how we will continue with education in 2026. Learn about technical support for upgrading, “Learning OJS / OMP / OPS 3.5,” which includes onboarding for software users and their teams, Open Monograph Press (OMP) in the spotlight as we prepare for OMP Fest, and what’s coming on OJS 3.6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59350/9vt95-3b615
Recap of 2025 education and programming sets the stage for 2026
2025 was a busy year for education at PKP. It was a year of taking stock of our accomplishments, planning for the future, and growing into the immense change we have felt through PKP’s rapid growth. We developed a five-year strategic plan and used it to guide a revised vision for how we support our community. With the generous in-kind and financial support of our contributors, as well as our strategic partners, the year 2026 will focus on implementation and on building these areas of growth.
In 2025, we continued our quarterly Development News Update webinar series; explored OMP under the spotlight; featured preservation opportunities via the PKP Preservation Network; co-launched the Open Publishing Series of online courses with the SFU Master of Publishing program and SFU Library; and highlighted upcoming feature enhancements expected in OJS 3.6.
2026 is shaping up to be another exciting year for education and programming at PKP.
Here are the major themes and key events to be aware of in the coming months:
Technical support for upgrading to the latest versions of our software
Our software is always evolving, and keeping up-to-date with the latest version is essential for keeping your installation secure and ensuring you can take advantage of the latest features and bug fixes.
To coincide with the Long-Term Support (LTS) version release of our software in 2026 (upcoming in version 3.5), we’ve enhanced our support for community members who are responsible for upgrading and maintaining OJS installations.
1. New PKP School course on Upgrading OJS, for systems administrators
Thanks to our recent partnership with Crossref, we’re developing a new online, self-paced course for systems administrators to learn the steps and considerations for installing, securing, and upgrading your OJS installation. This course, expected to launch in early 2027, will be a welcome addition to our existing online courses for journal managers, editors, reviewers, and authors, available through PKP School.
2. System upgrading webinars from version 3.3 to 3.5
In addition to the self-paced course in PKP School mentioned above, systems administrators are invited to attend an upgrading webinar to hear directly from PKP experts from our Systems Team. The webinar will include a detailed walkthrough of the technical upgrade process, a checklist of requirements to ensure a smooth transition, and an opportunity for questions and discussions with PKP systems experts.
The webinar will be scheduled to align with the release of the LTS version of OJS 3.5 in early 2026. Stay tuned for more details and to register!
Thanks to our collaboration with Crossref, we’re able to offer this webinar in various time zones and languages throughout 2026 and 2027. More information about these offerings coming soon!
Learning OJS / OMP / OPS 3.5: Onboarding for software users and their teams
Are you ready for the new user interface, features, and functionality coming with the upcoming release of the latest Long-Term Support version of OJS, OPS, and OMP — version 3.5?
Our resources and webinars will make sure you’re equipped with everything you need to know to transition to the latest version.
1. New PKP School courses for OJS 3.5
We’re thrilled to announce two new free, online, self-paced courses for end-users learning OJS 3.5, launching alongside the LTS version of our platforms in early 2026.
- Setting up a journal in OJS 3.5
- Editorial workflow in OJS 3.5
These courses walk you through every step in the process of configuring your OJS site and managing submissions through the editorial process, with videos, further readings, and activities that allow you gain hands-on experience using a shared OJS install provided by PKP.
Alongside these new courses, we’re pleased to share some additional features that are returning to PKP School after a brief pause: track your progress within a course, share your feedback via course reviews, and receive a certificate for completion.
Check out our video tutorials highlighting the changes you can look forward to in OJS 3.5 in our YouTube playlist.
📢 Have you seen our video tutorials highlighting the changes you can expect in OJS 3.5? View the full playlist on YouTube!
2. Webinars and community calls for learning OJS / OMP / OPS 3.5
Our Introducing OJS 3.5: Key features and user enhancements webinar will help onboard users and their teams to the new systems. Stay tuned for webinar dates and times, which will be scheduled to coincide with the LTS release in early 2026.
Additionally, we’re scheduling feature demonstrations and community calls to discuss the changes with version 3.5.
Join us for a webinar on Monday, February 9, to learn about metadata quality and multilingual publishing enhancements from CRAFT-OA (register here!), and stay tuned for a community call on data privacy and the new user invitation process in OJS 3.5 (details available soon).
Spotlight on Open Monograph Press (OMP)
Did you catch our OMP Under the Spotlight webinar with OMP Coordinator Zoe Wake Hyde in March, 2025? You can still watch the recording to hear about Zoe’s work to connect with our global community about OMP use, and our vision for the future in supporting open books!
This year, we invite you to join us for OMP Fest (call for proposals has closed; save the date to attend!), bringing together OMP communities to share insights, challenges, and advancements.
Date and time: Wednesday, March 25, 2026, 8 AM – 11 AM PT (5 PM – 8 PM CET)
Save the Date and stay tuned for registration opening in March 2026!
What’s coming in OJS 3.6?
With OJS / OMP / OPS version 3.5 hot off the press, we’re gearing up for another significant release milestone later this year! Version 3.6 is expected in Q3 of 2026 and incorporates major features development to align with our work on the Open Research Europe platform.
Here are some of the webinar offerings you can expect in 2026.
- PKP Webinar: Structured Citations in OJS 3.6. Wednesday, January 14, 9:00 AM PT — recording available on PKP’s YouTube channel.
- What’s Coming in OJS 3.6: Tasks and Discussions. Wednesday, January 28, 9:00 AM PT (registration is open!)
Register now to secure your spot, and stay tuned for more webinars being added to the series later this year!
📢 Did you catch this 2025 webinar on Preprints and Continuous Publication in OJS 3.6? Watch the recording!
