3月28日下午，北大研究生院联合施普林格与理文编辑共同举办的“科技写作与学术出版讲座”在北大第二教学楼301室举行。北京大学研究生院培养办公室贾爱英主任，施普林格中国编辑总监叶路先生，理文编辑中国区总监本杰明（Benjamin Shaw）先生出席本次活动。参加培训讲座的北大师生近150人。
在近3个小时的讲座中，施普林格的叶路先生和蒋磊先生先后向听众介绍了科技出版的相关知识，理文编辑的首席培训师Dr. Raye对如何进行科技论文写作与投稿进行了详细的讲解。整个讲座过程充满互动，北京大学的师生们发言踊跃，共同探讨科技写作与学术出版中的诸多问题，现场气氛非常热烈。
据在讲座现场散发并有效回收的调查问卷统计，有87%的听众对讲座表示满意，有82%的听众有兴趣在施普林格出版其作品。
施普林格中国编辑总监叶路介绍说：“我们为这次讲座做了精心的准备，北大研究生院的组织工作也做得非常好。我对北大师生在讲座过程中所表现出的认真态度和积极反馈感到非常满意。作为全球领先的STM出版社，Springer将一如既往地为中国的科研人员提供最优质的服务。”
理文编辑中国区总监本杰明表示：“此次讲座为施普林格和理文编辑提供了与中国科研人员紧密协作的平台。我们要传达的主旨是‘科研成果只有在发表后才算最终完成’。通过培养良好的投稿心态和交流顺利发表的技巧，我们希望帮助青年学者打下坚实的基础，为今后成为国际科研界积极的参与者做好准备。”
这次讲座获得了北大师生的热烈欢迎。同时，让施普林格对青年学者的需求有了更加深入的了解。今后，三方将继续合作，为北京大学的师生们提供最好的写作咨询和出版服务。
以下截取了本次讲座问答环节作者比较关心的几个问题：
How long should I wait before contacting a journal editor after submitting my manuscript if I haven’t heard back from them?
Dr. Raye: As a general guide, if you have not heard anything from a journal regarding the status of your manuscript after 2–3 months following submission, the corresponding author should contact the journal. If the journal still does not respond satisfactorily then authors should feel free to get in touch with the journal.
What is the difference between an Abstract, a Summary and a Conclusion?
Dr. Raye: An Abstract is usually located at the start of a manuscript (some journals may even call it a Summary). It provides the reader with a very brief outline of the work you did and your major findings. Some journals may ask for specific Summary or Conclusion sections following the main Discussion. Generally speaking, a Summary should contain a basic overview of what was done and found. A Conclusion section finalizes the message you are trying to convey in your manuscript; it is here where you can mention the implications of your research in a wider context and how the research could be further advanced. In other cases, a journal may request that just a Summary is provided instead of a Conclusion section, which would, like the Abstract, contain a basic overview of what was done and found.
How would I write a combined Results and Discussion section?
Dr. Raye: The best way to do this is to first describe your most important result and in a new paragraph discuss the inferences you have made from these results. Essentially, what do your results mean and what do they add to our global knowledge base? Now describe your next most important results in a new paragraph, followed by an explanation of these results. Once this has been done for all the results you wish to include in the manuscript, a final paragraph should be included to provide the conclusions of your research.
If I have submitted my manuscript for publication but the journal is taking a long time to notify me of its status, can I submit to another journal at the same time?
Dr. Raye: Never. DO NOT do this because it will damage your reputation as an author. It is unethical to submit the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time. If you are unhappy with the time it is taking for a journal editor to make a decision, you must write to the publication and officially request that your manuscript be withdrawn for consideration before you can submit to another journal. Remember, if you violate this ethical principle then you are likely to be caught as many referees review manuscripts for several journals in a field of research.
