The Saint-Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design (Ƶ) hosts an educational project «School of Publishing Excellence», designed to immerse future Russian book specialists in solving real issues of the industry through practice under the guidance of leading publishers, designers, editors, marketers, IT specialists of the country. The event is implemented by Ƶ within the framework of the program of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia «Priority 2030» (national project «Science and Universities») with the support of the Ministry of Finance of Russia.
«The Saint-Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design attracts students not only with a systematic approach to mastering creative areas of education, studying culture and art, but also with visually effective methods that allow them to gain new knowledge directly from leading specialists in these fields. Recently, the most interesting and attractive form of interaction between young professionals and the most famous and experienced representatives of various creative specialties, along with conducting master classes, is the organization of «schools of professional skill». This form may be interesting not only for students and graduates professionally associated with books and book graphics, but also for future designers of costume and textiles, knitwear and shoes, graphic design and jewelry,» says Natalia Lezunova, Director of the Higher School of Printing and Media Technologies of Ƶ, Head of the Department of Book Publishing and Book Trade.

The school of publishing excellence is included in the business program of the St. Petersburg Book Salon, master classes are devoted to the criteria for selecting new books for the publishing portfolio, the stages of work on a book in a publishing house, titles for books, IT systems that help improve work efficiency, book design, cover and decoration, the need for a designer to read the texts of future books and be in constant contact with the team.
«Without direct communication with leading experts in the field in which the student wants to work in the future, training is simply meaningless. Only a theory will remain in my head, which it is unclear how to apply. Master classes provide an opportunity to immerse yourself in real problems that will have to be solved, to understand the logic of certain actions, to understand how and why certain decisions are made,» explains Sergey Turko, editor—in-chief of «Alpina Publisher».

Future professionals of the book industry adopt the experience of leading specialists in the formation of a task before starting work on a book, work out problems and mistakes in the design and illustration of books, experience the role of an artistic and literary editor, taking into account the requirements and capabilities of printing production, study directing and project design.
«Book design and publishing project management turned out to be an extremely relevant topic. The speakers told about the main stages of work on the book, the principles of the formation of the publishing portfolio, new directions and current publishing trends in 2022-2023. How is the design of the book created, how is the task formed before starting work? How is the interaction of participants in the publishing process going? Experts paid special attention to the image of the book as one of the key elements of publishing aesthetics and education of readers' taste,» comments Svetlana Zorina, editor—in-chief of the Book Industry magazine.

Reference: the organizers of the School of Publishing skills are the magazine «Book Industry» and the St. Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design.
Today, one of the strategic projects of the University of Industrial Technologies and Design, which is implemented by the university within the framework of the program of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia «Priority 2030», is the creation of a Competence Center and reverse engineering of domestic light, printing and pulp and paper industries. The launch of the School has become one of the tools to achieve the goals of the project: to become a national competence center in these areas and a leader in the number of implemented technologies and trained personnel.

«The strategic direction of the development of education and science at the Saint-Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design is tight integration with the industry, the formation of educational programs and trajectories with the participation of leading enterprises and specialists. Considerable attention is also paid to updating the competencies of our teachers and scientists, direct interaction of students with current practices and advanced developments of leading enterprises. A necessary tool for such a trajectory of strategic development is constant expanding contacts with leading industry experts, recognized practitioners, their direct participation in the educational process. On this track, we are implementing a number of projects, one of which is the School of Publishing Excellence. This is an opportunity first-hand» to adopt advanced practical experience, adapt it to improve training profiles, correct research directions. Since this year, the University has become a permanent partner of this authoritative industry project carried out by the Book Industry magazine with the support of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation,» said Konstantin Antipov, head of the strategic project of the Center for Competence and Reverse Engineering of Domestic Light, Printing and Pulp and Paper Industries of Ƶ.


