Alumni

Our alumni have gone on to a range of publishing and publishing-related careers in the commercial and not-for-profit sectors. Read more about some of our alumni below. If you are one of our alumni, and would like to tell us what you're doing now, please get in touch using the details on our Contact page.


Shiqin Zhang, MSc in International Publishing Management, 2009

May 20th, 2010 by prm | Posted in Alumni | Comments Off on Shiqin Zhang, MSc in International Publishing Management, 2009

Studying at the University of Stirling is an eye-opening experience. The core constituent of the International Publishing Management course is to learn how to address the problems common to every publisher, cope with the changes that the publishing industry is undergoing and most important of all, seek new areas of growth. Finally each course member is required to focus their thesis on a publisher: apply what they have learnt in class to resolve the problems the publisher is faced with and give recommendations on how to achieve sustainable growth.

My focus is on Basic Education Publishing (BEP,part of Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press based in Beijing), the publishing company I’m working for. “Write about your own company, and it will be good for you once your recommendations are adopted.” This is great advice from our teachers at the University of Stirling, which my later experience bears out. I knew the problems with our company, applied my knowledge gained in the course and then put all my ideas into the thesis.

Two weeks after I came back, the publishing strategy of BEP was forwarded to me. I revised and even rewrote some parts of it according to my thesis. My boss has been really happy with the fresh perspective I brought back. As a result, a new list has been built and the first batch, which includes twelve books, will be published in the summer of 2010. More of my ideas are now being used and tested. Due of my input, I have been admitted to the publishing committee, the decision-making body of our company.

Looking back, the publishing course has familiarised me with the norms in international publishing and helped to train me to think and work more professionally. I’m always grateful to the course as it has paved the way for my further professional development.

Our alumni have gone on to a range of publishing and publishing-related careers in the commercial and not-for-profit sectors. Read more about some of our alumni below. If you are one of our alumni, and would like to tell us what you're doing now, please get in touch using the details on our Contact page.


Terka Acton, MPhil in Publishing Studies, 1995

December 7th, 2009 by cs48@stir.ac.uk | Posted in Alumni | Comments Off on Terka Acton, MPhil in Publishing Studies, 1995

The Stirling course was practical, relevant and friendly, and offered an excellent introduction to publishing. When it came to the crucial matter of whether this interesting course would actually help to me to get a job, I wasn’t disappointed: on graduation I was in the happy position of deciding between two editorial assistant positions, one with Central European University Press in Budapest, and the other with Longman (now Pearson Education) in Harlow.

I surprised myself a little by opting for Harlow over Budapest, but it turned out to be an excellent decision, and the four happy years I spent there gave me a good grounding in academic publishing. In 1999 Macmillan Press (now Palgrave Macmillan) invited me to commission their history textbook list. A great job and excellent colleagues made the commute from London to Basingstoke bearable for six years, but in 2006 I decided to freelance for a while. In 2007 an exciting opportunity to commission illustrated trade history books came up at Thames & Hudson, and I am very much enjoying this chance to experience a different aspect of the industry.

Our alumni have gone on to a range of publishing and publishing-related careers in the commercial and not-for-profit sectors. Read more about some of our alumni below. If you are one of our alumni, and would like to tell us what you're doing now, please get in touch using the details on our Contact page.


Paul Mihailidis, MLitt in Publishing Studies, 2001

November 30th, 2009 by cs48@stir.ac.uk | Posted in Alumni | Comments Off on Paul Mihailidis, MLitt in Publishing Studies, 2001

I cannot say that the Publishing course at the University of Stirling was the only reason for my success, but it has been a great help. I began work with Pearson Education in New York as a Production Assistant and after 18 months I had been promoted to Production Editor. What the course gave me was a number of significant advantages and insights.

First, the practical knowledge I gained of editing, production, marketing and the whole business of books gave me a clear idea of where I wanted to go in the industry. Secondly, because I had gone on the course, I had marketable skills which I found publishing houses were eager to use.

The Stirling course provides a sound training for the real world of publishing. The staff are experienced, knowledgeable, and highly approachable. The laboratory facilities are state of the art and the course content is relevant and highly practical.

If you want a career in publishing, there is no better place to start than Publishing Studies at the University of Stirling. Years after graduating I am still using the knowledge and skills I learned at Stirling.