A symposium on the role of Publishing Education within academia and industry

Publishing has been available as an option for study, for under- and postgraduates, for over thirty years. Courses straddle the professional and the academic, and are found housed within a variety of different types of department, so that defining value, internally and externally, is still a key challenge.

 From the professional training side, the publishing industry receives a free and ready-supply of trained employees, equipped with an understanding of both the associated business model, and how it has developed over time. Publishers’ responses to this can be viewed as ranging from enthusiastic and appreciative to indifferent if not exploitative.

 Dissertations and practical projects conducted by students are offering the industry an ongoing source of investigative thinking and project completion – with very low development costs – and this within an industry that has traditionally spent very little on market research. But is the research directed towards issues the industry wants to examine in more detail, and are the findings being disseminated effectively? How can these student projects connect with academic research outlets, and how can they be defined as valuable additions to a university’s research strategy? How can further, doctoral and post-doctoral research be developed in Publishing Studies, and how might that be funded?

 Employers say they want to see work experience on applicants’ CVs, but if this is to be unpaid and lengthy, is this damaging attempts to recruit a more diverse workforce? In an era when 45%of the population buy few if any books, and 25% of the adult population read little, if at all, wider participation might help us develop strategies to persuade non-readers that reading is a good use of their time and money.

 This seminar, hosted by the Department of Journalism and Publishing at Kingston University will explore what Publishing Education offers and whether it matters. The overall aim is to ensure that those offering it are developing and researching in areas useful to the industry and allied fields, and are seeking to meet both the industry’s current and anticipated staffing and skills needs. It will also look to sharpen appreciation from both industry and academia as to what is available, discuss the associated transferrable skills and benefits, and provide a forum for discussion.

 The cost of the symposium is being kept deliberately low, at £42.50 (which includes breakfast and lunch) to encourage wide participation. The event will take place at Kingston University’s Penrhyn Road Campus, KT1 2EE.

 The event will be chaired by Alison Baverstock, Course Leader for MA Publishing, Kingston University.

Programme for Tuesday 17th January 2012

9.00 Onwards, coffee and refreshments available

9.30 Introduction and welcome. Professor Martin McQuillan, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Kingston University

9.40 Chair’s introduction: Alison Baverstock, Kingston University

‘It’s not what I did’

The history of Publishing within academia and the validity of Publishing as a subject for study
Professor Clare Squires, Stirling University

10.00 Publisher Education: the common curriculum

What is being taught and why

Nick Canty, UCL

Keeping it current

How we ensure the curriculum is up-to-date – and decide what to add

Melanie Ramdarshan-Bold, Loughborough University

Questions

10.45 What responsibility does the publishing industry have towards those who

a) enrol for and b) deliver Publishing Education?

Richard Mollet, Chief Executive, Publishers Association

11.15 Coffee

11.30 The research being carried out

A round-up of current research being developed within Publishing Education Dr Samantha Rayner, Anglia Ruskin University

12.00 ‘I’d like to go to Faber please’

The role of the placement: cost/value equations; associated systems and support; the experience of both student and host. Is it worth it?

• Ian Grant, MD, Encyclopedia Britannica
• Tony Mulliken, Chairman, Midas PR
• HR Manager

 12.45 Summing up of the morning

1.00 Lunch
 

1.45 Open Forum

 We will seek to debate, Any Questions style, three important issues:

·        What should be on the curriculum, or be actively discussed, within Publishing courses?

·        How can we provide better support for the industry-based research being done within institutions offering Publishing Education? How can the industry both access and benefit?

·        How can we ensure the placement experience works to the short/ long term benefit of all?

Alan Samson Publisher, Weidenfeld & Nicolson;  Ruth Killick, Publicity Director, Profile Books;
Bobby Nayyar, Consultant Development Manager, DIPNET; Suzanne Kavanagh, Publishing Sector Manager, Skillset; and the director of a Publishing course.

3.15 Round up of the day, conclusions and recommendations

3.30 Conference closes with tea and time for further discussion