editing, academic, proofreading, ISO, medical

Kyoto University Press starts offering editing and publishing support to researchers

Kyoto University Press (KUP) has started offering editing and publishing support to researchers at Kyoto University. This development is a direct recognition of the growing demand for editorial support from academia. Traditionally, KUP has shied away from such assignments, accepting only book projects—its principal domain. However, recent months have seen KUP making a foray into this field in close association with Cactus Japan KK, a company that is the preferred scientific communication partner of several eminent academic publishers and organizations. Elaborating on this partnership, Tetsuya Suzuki, Managing Editor of Kyoto University Press, remarks, "We believe we found in Cactus the right partner to help us deliver world—class editing services to our researchers. This will improve their chances of publication in journals and help present research in Japan before a global audience."

This move comes in the wake of another strong collaborative venture that KUP and Cactus have been involved in, in the recent past. In December 2007, KUP contracted Cactus to undertake editing and designing responsibilities as part of a six-book contract. Speaking on the occasion of the sealing of this agreement, Mr. Suzuki remarked, "Although the designs submitted by Japanese companies were professional in their look and feel, we were looking for something that would appeal to a global, cross—cultural audience, which is exactly what Cactus brought to the table. So, it was a very easy decision for Kyoto University Press to contract the project to Cactus." This agreement marked a significant step that promises KUP and Cactus greater opportunities in working together, especially from the point of view of international design and print publication targeted at overseas and local Asian markets.

Interestingly, the KUP—Cactus association had started in 2004 as an offering of editorial services, requiring the editing of a few books each year. Over the years, it has fructified into landmark ventures through which KUP has endeavored to expand its core competence and outreach.

About KUP: Kyoto University Press is one of the premier academic publishers in Japan. It is responsible for the development, publication, and distribution of academic and educational material, and is closely associated with Kyoto University. Please visit http://www.kyoto-up.or.jp/ for more details.

About Cactus Japan KK: Cactus Japan KK is a subsidiary of Cactus Communications Pvt. Ltd., a specialist in the field of scientific communication providing academic and research editing solutions to more than 30,000 clients across 515 subject areas. With offices in Japan, USA and India, Cactus brings together best-in-class talent through a growing base of 70 in-house and 67 contractual editors, making it the largest academic editing team in the world. Visit http://www.cactus.co.jp/ and http://www.cactusglobal.com/ for more details on Cactus Japan KK and Cactus Communications Pvt. Ltd., respectively.

Contact information

Kyoto University Press
Tetsuya Suzuki, Executive Director
E-mail : suzuki@kyoto-up.or.jp
Phone: +81 75 761 6182

Cactus Japan KK
Abhishek Goel, Founder & Director
E-mail: abhishekg@cactusglobal.com
Phone: +91 22 6714 8888

Cactus organizes the first BELS certification exam in India

The Board of Editors in the Life Sciences (BELS) will, for the first time in its history, conduct a certification examination in India on the 15th and 16th of November 2008. This examination is the outcome of discussions that Cactus Communications has been having with BELS over the last year. What makes this even more special is the fact that the exam in Mumbai is the 100th exam being conducted by BELS. About 40 editors—34 from Cactus and 6 from the writing teams of reputed global companies like Aventis, Accenture, and Quintiles—will be taking this exam. Two proctors from the US, Leslie Neistadt and Kim Berman, will be coming to India to conduct the exam.

About the BELS certification
Potential employers and clients of manuscript editors have no objective way to assess the proficiency of editors. The need for an objective test of editorial skill has long been recognized. BELS was founded in 1991 to evaluate the proficiency of manuscript editors in the life sciences and to award credentials similar to those obtained in other professions. There are currently more than 750 BELS-certified editors in 16 countries, including 2 in India.

For more information about BELS, visit www.bels.org

Editage participates in the 68th annual conference of the American Medical Writers Association

On October 25, Editage held a presentation at the 68th annual conference of the American Medical Writers Association in Louisville, Kentucky. This presentation focused on the current medical writing scenario in India and touched upon "smartsourcing" as an increasingly viable alternative for tapping the vast medical writing talent pool in India. Interestingly, to enunciate the point about how technology can be used to bridge geographical distance, the two speakers representing Editage—Elvira D'souza (Manager, Medical Writing Services) and Donald Samulack (VP, Medical Affairs and Strategic Partnerships)—addressed the audience from two different continents by using Skype and WebEx, softwares that allow video and web conferencing over the Internet.

Editage participates in the 25th Practical Conference on Communication organized by the Society for Technical Communication

On October 11, Donald Samulack, VP, Medical Affairs and Strategic Partnerships, Editage, held a presentation at the 25th Practical Conference onCommunication of the Society for Technical Communication. The presentation, titled "Cost-effective Tools and Strategies to Coordinate Team Productivity on Both Sides of the Planet, " provided a real-life perspective of the challenges involved in coordinating team and customer relationship management activities across geographic and time-zone differences and offered practical strategies for international communication. Speaking on the occasion of the conference, which centered around the theme of Technical Communication in a Global Economy, Donald, who is a PhD with an insider's perspective of both clinical and academic spheres, remarked, "The importance of strategies and technologies in managing medical writing and editing workflows, customer relationship management, as well as in overcoming regionalization in Web development, cannot be understated if you want to nurture a global brand in a small corporate setting. "

Cactus launches its US subsidiary

In June 2008, Cactus Communications Pvt. Ltd. officially launched its US subsidiary—Cactus Communications Inc.—in Philadelphia, Tennessee. Heading the subsidiary will be Donald Samulack, PhD, who joined Cactus in May 2008 as VP - Medical Affairs and Strategic Partnerships.

Cactus' main objective in establishing the subsidiary is to promote its medical writing and academic editing services in a mature market like the US. The said services will be offered via Editage, the scientific communication division of Cactus. Through this move, Editage aims to service clients from the academic and pharmaceutical sectors in North America. Shedding more light on this landmark step, Anurag Goel, CEO, Cactus Communications Pvt. Ltd., says, "Through Cactus US, we aim to grow beyond our traditional markets, which have been in the Far East (Japan and Korea). The US is the base for most large pharmaceutical companies. A foothold here will help us gain a deeper understanding of the medical communications industry and fill any gaps in the services we offer. Further, a physical presence in the US will ensure that our clients have someone to talk to in their own time zone. It will reduce any perceived barriers due to geographical distance."

Editage launches new writing course for researchers

Editage announces the upcoming launch of a new writing course for researchers in Japan. This course will be created jointly by Editage and i-osmosis, the English education division of the company. Shedding light on what prompted this latest offering of Editage, Anurag Goel (CEO) remarks, "Editage has six years of experience in editing research papers and i-osmosis has taught written English for over three years. Both divisions are focused on Japan. It seemed like a natural next step for us to combine their strengths and roll out a writing course for researchers in Japan."

Ravi Murugesan, a BELS-certified (Board of Editors in the Life Sciences) editor and the manager of i-osmosis, said that "Many researchers in the past have asked us if we have a specific writing course for their profession. In the absence of such a course, they usually signed up for one of our general courses. So when Editage came up with the idea to meet requests for a specific writing course from many of their existing 8,500 clients, we decided to take up the opportunity. Editage, by drawing on its deep understanding of how researchers write, will help i-osmosis conceptualize this completely customized course." Hamami Ueno, the marketing manager of Editage in Japan, added "We have even taken into account the fact that researchers are very busy people, so the course will be offered in highly flexible schedule formats."

For more details about this course, send an e-mail with your name, organization, and e-mail address to wcr@editage.com.

Editage participates in the 80th Annual Conference of the English Literary Society of Japan

On May 24 and 25, Editage, the academic editing arm of Cactus Communications Pvt. Ltd., participated in the 80th Annual Conference of the English Literary Society of Japan. The conference presented a good opportunity for Editage to showcase its service offerings and gain visibility among researchers in the English literary field. Over the two days, Abhishek Goel, Director - Business Development, and Makoto Yuasa, Manager, interacted with other participants and explained how editing services can go a long way in disseminating high-quality research on English literature globally. Commenting on the experience, Abhishek Goel, remarks, "Besides interacting with academia, we met with several existing and potential clients. While existing clients mostly spoke about their experience with Editage, potential clients were made aware of our services and offered a free editing trial." As a gesture of appreciation for their interest, all visitors to the Editage desk were gifted coasters on which quotes by eminent litterateurs from different eras were inscribed.

Click here for pictures.

Cactus Japan launches translation service

Cactus Japan KK, the Japanese arm of Cactus Communications Pvt. Ltd., has launched a Japanese-English translation service. This development comes as a response to the growing demand for bilingual translation services in the business and scientific communication industry. The service will accept a wide variety of content ranging from academic papers to marketing material to website content. With this offering, Cactus hopes to suitably supplement academic editing, its flagship business, and provide comprehensive bilingual support to the nonnative English-speaking market.

Editage launches medical writing services

Editage, the preferred scientific communication partner for several reputed academic institutions and business organizations, has further expanded its offerings by launching a medical writing service. This service caters to the communication needs of pharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations (CROs), academic departments, and individuals. It includes everything from clinical manuscripts, clinical study reports, and safety reports, to scientific manuscripts, grant applications, scientific poster presentations, and pharma marketing material.

The seed for such a service was sown in 2005, when Editage became a member of the American Medical Writers Association—a globally reputed organization that offers "educational programs, various publications, and unparalleled opportunities" for members to extend their professional expertise. In the ensuing months, Editage acquired a much better understanding of the requirements of the medical communication industry and considerably benefited from the training received through AMWA.

Shedding light on the market for such a service, Elvira D'souza, Manager - Medical Writing Services, remarks, "Drug companies and CROs are increasingly outsourcing non-core activities to where they can be done more efficiently and at lower costs. Outsourcing in the clinical trials industry is growing at almost 31%. Also, researchers need well -written documents that will stand the scrutiny of competitive peer-review processes." In light of these market needs and the requisite in-house talent at the disposal of Editage, medical writing is a natural extension of its service portfolio. In the immediate future, Editage aims to establish itself as a key player in the medical writing industry.

Editage starts its own blog

In a significant step that acknowledges the importance for services to keep pace with clients' changing needs, Editage has launched its own blog.

The blog aims to serve educative, informative, and interactive purposes while providing a common platform for the dissemination of pertinent facts and ideas. Eminent figures from the editing and publishing industry as well as in-house trainers and senior editors will contribute to the blog periodically. The blog will also feature a section called "Ask a question" wherein visitors can put forward queries pertaining to manuscript preparation that editors from Editage will reply to directly. Occasionally, the question and answer may also be posted on the blog without disclosure of personal information.

Providing an insight into the kind of information the blog will feature, Velany Fernandez, Managing Editor, Quality&Training, remarks, "We plan to have several series of posts on important topics. Such series will shed light on not only writing but also everything related to the publication of research." The blog also carries relevant articles and content from the Center for Research Writing Resources.

For more information, visit http://blog.editage.com/