About the Press

Genesis and Historical Identity

Editorial UMQ was born not from an abstract corporate blueprint, but as a living, student-driven initiative. Its journey began in 2023 with the conception of MORPHEÚS, the university's first academic journal, which published its inaugural issue in April 2024. The evolution of this imprint serves as its own proof of concept: it captures a real transition from a single student's vision into a robust, integrated knowledge ecosystem powered by a deeply committed team. This historical trajectory stands as tangible proof that student agency, when met with deliberate institutional backing and the right structural tools, is the operational heart that sustains and defines our identity.

An Epistemological Stance on Knowledge

Embracing this history, the ecosystem treats knowledge not as a static collection of data or a finalized commodity, but as a dynamic, participatory act. We view the intellect as an evolving dialogue—a shared interpretation shaped by a historically constituted subject engaging with an inexhaustible reality. Consequently, our editorial work rejects rigid, singular formats. The press is intentionally designed to push beyond the traditional boundaries of publishing, offering an expansive horizon that seamlessly accommodates thorough scientific research, multimedia platforms, and diverse exploratory narratives that capture knowledge in its full complexity.

The Pillars of the Ecosystem

This view of knowledge translates into a continuous, interconnected operational cycle structured around three essential pillars:

  • Transmission: We define transmission as the relational and deeply engaged transfer of knowledge. It recognizes that we share far more than isolated data; we convey the presence, context, and history that give that data meaning. This pillar anchors our formative mission, ensuring that subjectivity and context remain central to how knowledge is taught and shared.

  • Dissemination: This is the act of expanding and propelling knowledge across multiple directions. To make a lasting impact, we break down traditional disciplinary silos through multimodality, diversifying our formats and channels so that insights flow naturally and translate accurately for different audiences beyond conventional academic broadcasts.

  • Accessibility: We maintain an unyielding commitment to Open Access, driven by the conviction that science and culture must circulate without economic barriers. Accordingly, our entire digital catalog is completely free, exempt from author processing charges (APCs), and open to readers worldwide.

The Collaborative Engine: The ECEB | Protagonistas Program

The operational engine that brings this vision to life is the ECEB | Protagonistas Program, formally structured in January 2026. Grounded in the core principle of Marist student agency, the program formalizes a fundamental truth: the press functions and thrives through the daily dedication of undergraduate students, positioning them as the primary drivers of their own professional formation. This framework bridges formative mentoring with contemporary knowledge mobilization, directly answering institutional calls for social engagement and academic innovation.

Here, we explicitly recognize that students possess their own situated, contextual expertise—whether in a specific field of study, technical software, or a creative discipline. The program actively accompanies and structures the original proposals, texts, and creative concepts that students bring to the table. The student leader retains absolute ownership and responsibility for their project, while the press provides the necessary scaffolding to build it from scratch or integrate it into active channels, guiding the workflow toward its optimal dissemination and transmission. Driven by this autonomy, the team runs the actual technical engineering of the ecosystem, managing visual design, journal and book layout, OJS and OMP platform customization, and social impact strategies.

The sustainability of this model relies on horizontal mentorship, where senior students guide incoming peers to preserve technical continuity across graduation cycles. Integrated through formal university tracks—including volunteering, work-study scholarships, social service, and professional internships—success is driven by tangible deliverables and progressive autonomy over simple seat time, equipping students with an accredited professional portfolio before graduation.

Strategic Projections and Future Architecture

The stability of this conceptual and operational matrix serves as a launchpad for a much broader sphere of influence, positioning Editorial UMQ as a benchmark for cultural, methodological, and intellectual design in higher education. Looking ahead, our aspiration centers on cultivating a living, interconnected network that extends far beyond local borders. This ambition takes its initial steps through structural co-design initiatives within the Marist Network in Mexico, paving the way for shared inter-institutional editorial boards and joint serial publications that will definitively elevate indexing standards, external diversity, and global visibility across our institutions.

From this rapidly evolving foundation, the ecosystem is shifting toward becoming a central hub for external engagement and social vitality. We are actively building direct bridges with large-scale publishing funds, ministries of culture, and innovation hubs, ensuring that situated knowledge operates as an indispensable force in the community.

The infrastructure is built to scale progressively into complex interactive platforms, cutting-edge multimedia archives, and conceptual mappings that will thoroughly diversify how knowledge is shared. Editorial UMQ is charting its course as an intellectual landscape in constant expansion—fully equipped to host the projects of tomorrow while unlocking new horizons for critical thought and human expression.