About the Journal

Horizons – International Scientific Journal (HISJ) is an annual, international, peer-reviewed, and open-access scholarly journal published by the University "St. Kliment Ohridski" – Bitola in North Macedonia. Since its establishment, the journal has served as a dynamic platform for high-quality academic research and intellectual exchange across a wide range of scientific fields. In addition to its regular annual issue, the journal also publishes occasional special issues.

HISJ serves as a platform for disseminating high-quality research across diverse academic disciplines, fostering scholarly communication and advancing interdisciplinary dialogue. The journal seeks to bridge disciplinary boundaries by promoting collaboration, integrative perspectives, and impactful multi- and interdisciplinary research.

Aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), HISJ prioritizes research addressing SDG-related themes and global challenges. Through this publication platform and its broader academic initiatives, the University supports knowledge creation and dissemination that contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

HISJ operates under the Diamond Open Access model, meaning that authors do not pay Article Processing Charges and all published articles are made immediately available online. This ensures broad and unrestricted access for scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and students worldwide.

The journal was launched in 2005 and has steadily grown into a respected platform for global scholarly communication. In 2011, HISJ adopted a more international orientation, strengthening cooperation with universities and researchers worldwide and forming an international editorial board composed of distinguished scholars from various countries.

In 2023, HISJ began publishing all content under an open license.

All manuscripts submitted to HISJ undergo a rigorous editorial and peer-review process. Submissions first undergo an initial editorial assessment to verify their suitability for the journal’s aims and scope. Manuscripts that pass this screening proceed to anonymous peer review by at least two independent reviewers.

HISJ is supported by an International Editorial Committee (IEC). Members of the IEC may be affiliated with universities or other research institutions; however, they serve on the Committee in their individual academic capacity. Their contributions and recommendations are based solely on their scholarly expertise, academic experience, and commitment to research integrity.

Members of the IEC contribute to the academic quality and continuous development of Horizons – International Scientific Journal by providing expert guidance on submitted manuscripts, assisting in the identification of appropriate reviewers, supporting the peer-review process within their areas of expertise, and providing recommendations that may contribute to informed editorial decisions.

All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial editorial assessment, followed by a rigorous double-blind peer-review process conducted by at least two independent experts with relevant knowledge and experience in the respective research field. This process ensures objectivity, transparency, fairness, and adherence to the highest standards of academic quality.

All manuscripts submitted to Horizons – International Scientific Journal are first evaluated by the journal’s editors to determine their suitability for further consideration. During this stage, manuscripts are assessed according to the following criteria:

Alignment with the journal’s aims and scope: The manuscript must correspond to the thematic, disciplinary, and methodological focus of the journal, with particular consideration given to high-quality multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research contributions.
Compliance with submission requirements: The manuscript must meet the journal’s formal requirements, including structure, formatting, language quality, and other technical guidelines provided in the author instructions.
Compliance with publication ethics standards: The manuscript must comply with the journal’s ethical policies, including requirements related to originality, authorship, research integrity, transparency, and responsible scholarly practices.
Overall scientific quality: The manuscript must demonstrate academic rigor, methodological soundness, relevance, clarity of presentation, and a meaningful contribution to the advancement of knowledge in the respective field.

Manuscripts that successfully pass the initial editorial assessment proceed to the external peer-review stage, where they are evaluated in greater depth by independent experts with relevant disciplinary expertise. Manuscripts that do not meet the required standards may be rejected at this stage or returned to authors with comments and recommendations for improvement before further consideration.

The mission of HISJ is to foster an active international forum for scholarly debate, interdisciplinary research, and the dissemination of new knowledge. The journal welcomes contributions from researchers worldwide regardless of nationality, ideology, or background and encourages authors to present their work clearly and accessibly for a broad academic audience. Both established scholars and early-career researchers, including doctoral students, are encouraged to submit their research to enhance global scientific dialogue and visibility.

In 2024, HISJ introduced a rolling publication model beginning with Vol. 2, No. 1. Under this approach, articles are published continuously throughout the year as soon as they are accepted and are immediately assigned DOIs and page numbers, ensuring rapid dissemination and improved accessibility.

Since Vol. 3, No. 1 (2026), the journal has assigned the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License to all published articles.

Starting in 2025, HISJ transitioned to a new CrossRef sponsor/provider, ensuring faster and more accurate DOI assignment, as well as more reliable metadata deposition. In the same year, the journal entered a renewed editorial cycle aimed at elevating academic standards and strengthening its international visibility. To enhance the precision and efficiency of editorial work within specific scientific areas, dedicated Section Editors were also appointed.

Additionally, 2025 marked a significant structural transformation, as HISJ discontinued its traditional Section A and Section B categorization, adopting a more interdisciplinary approach aligned with the journal’s evolving vision and development strategy. This new direction was further strengthened in July 2026, when HISJ formally identified the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a key priority within its editorial and research framework.

This strategic shift reflects HISJ’s ambition to establish a more integrated platform for interdisciplinary scientific dialogue. By moving beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries, the journal promotes cross-field collaboration, encourages holistic academic perspectives, and responds more effectively to the complexity of contemporary scientific and societal challenges. Through its strengthened interdisciplinary focus, HISJ provides a space where diverse scientific approaches converge to generate innovative solutions, advance knowledge, and support meaningful contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In 2025, UKLO, as the publisher, and HISJ have a registered deposit policy with Sherpa Romeo (Jisc). This step is particularly significant because Jisc contributes to greater international visibility of scientific publications, ensures a high level of transparency and reliability, and guarantees long-term digital archiving of the content.

HISJ is also a member of the Open Archives Initiative for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH), contributing to global efforts to promote open scholarly metadata and enhance citation transparency.

Articles that have been accepted will be published on the website of the journal and may be distributed to other online repositories (e.g., Zenodo, Internet Archive, Keepers Registry, and LOCKSS).

The journal’s editorial team promotes published articles, announcements, and relevant news through the official social media channels of the university and the journal, including Facebook and LinkedIn.

Publication History

Following the assignment of the new ISSN: 2955-2303, the journal launched a new publication series in 2024, beginning with Volume 1, Number 1 (2024). This renumbering was introduced to ensure clear, consistent, and unambiguous identification of all issues published under the new ISSN, reflecting the journal's renewed publishing framework and facilitating accurate indexing, citation, and long-term discoverability of its published content.

Information for Authors

Articles may come from any country but must be written in English.
Articles are considered based on scientific validity and technical quality, not perceived impact.
The journal editors reserve the right to return to authors, without peer review, improperly formatted articles.
Authors are discouraged from using figures. If there is sufficient cause to include figures, authors must submit original electronic copies in PNG, TIF, or high-resolution JPG format. If tables are included, they must be created in Word, not Excel.
The journal editors do not require a specific variant of English for submitted articles; however, the grammar must be at a publishable level upon submission. If the article is not written in the author’s native language, authors are encouraged to seek assistance from a native speaker or a professional proofreader before submitting the manuscript.
The published articles are hierarchically numbered. They are published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. The author holds the copyright and retains publishing rights without restrictions.
One author cannot send more than two articles (the first author of one article and a co-author of another one). The author declares that any person named as a co-author of the article is aware of the fact and has agreed to be so named.
The article text should not include any information that identifies the authors or any other collaborators in the work. The managing editor will remove personal details from the articles before sending them to reviewers.
Each author needs to submit a short biography (max. 200 words). If the authors submit their articles via Email (horizonti@uklo.edu.mk), the short biography should be submitted in a separate file.
Each author should provide an ORCID ID.
The articles should be submitted in a Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx).
A statement of consent from the authors, confirming that the article is their original work, must accompany the submission.
On average, the process from submission to publication takes approximately 18 weeks. However, this timeframe may vary depending on several factors, including the time needed to identify and secure appropriate peer reviewers for each manuscript.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Alignment

Effective July 2026, Horizons – International Scientific Journal (HISJ) aligns its editorial mission and publishing activities with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by promoting high-quality, interdisciplinary research that contributes to sustainable development and the advancement of knowledge. Every published article will now include an explicit indication of its relevant SDG(s) on the first page below the abstract and keywords to enhance discoverability.

Given its broad multidisciplinary scope, HISJ primarily contributes to SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) through the promotion of scientific excellence, the dissemination of research findings, the advancement of innovation, and the encouragement of international and cross-disciplinary academic collaboration.

Depending on the thematic focus of individual articles, HISJ also supports additional SDGs, including SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

Through its commitment to interdisciplinary research, open scientific communication, and global scholarly cooperation, HISJ seeks to make a meaningful contribution to the achievement of the SDGs and to strengthen the role of science in addressing contemporary social, economic, technological, and environmental challenges.

Why Publish with HISJ?

Publishing in Horizons – International Scientific Journal (HISJ) offers:

Rigorous peer review and professional editorial support;
Diamond Open Access publishing with no article processing charges;
International visibility and a multidisciplinary academic audience;
Author retention of copyright and simple submission guidelines;
Promotion of published articles through scholarly databases and academic networks.

HISJ supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by promoting research that contributes to sustainable development, innovation, and global knowledge exchange. As an interdisciplinary journal, HISJ welcomes diverse perspectives and fosters international academic collaboration across fields.

Publication Frequency: 1 issue per year (annual)