On August 31, the National Publishing Discipline Co-construction and the work meeting of the Teaching Steering Committee of Publishing Major Degree Graduates was held in Tianjin. At the meeting, Zhang Jianchun, Vice Minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, unveiled plaques for the Publishing Research Institute of NKU, the Publishing Research Institute of Wuhan University, and the School of Publishing at Communication University of China.
The Publishing Research Institute of NKU is jointly established by NKU and the Publicity Department of the CPC Tianjin Municipal Committee. It is oriented towards the national strategy of deep media integration and international communication. Leveraging the strengths of NKU as a comprehensive research university, the institute strengthens its disciplinary specialties in publishing history and theory, international communication in publishing, integrated publishing, and digital publishing. It aims to provide intellectual support for accelerating the construction of a strong publishing country and a culturally strong nation.
The Publishing Research Institute of NKU has been selected for the list of high-quality institutions under the 2023 High-quality Construction Plan of Publishing Think Tanks. Taking this opportunity, the institute will explore new approaches to the construction of the new liberal arts through methods such as mutual learning between literature and science, cross-disciplinary integration, and fusion of literature and engineering. It will emphasize the new liberal arts attributes, including full-media, integrated media, new media, and international communication and discourse power. The institute is committed to playing a greater role and providing more support in areas such as nurturing talents in the new era of full-media publishing, promoting the integration of traditional and digital publishing, constructing a publishing discourse system with Chinese characteristics for the new era, and advancing international outreach in publishing.
The Publishing Research Institute of NKU, in collaboration with the national-level publishing think tank construction, will strive to create a comprehensive research theoretical framework for international publishing communication ecosystem that integrates cultural ecosystem, market ecosystem, and internet ecosystem. This framework will include research on the effectiveness assessment of international publishing communication. The aim is to produce a series of original, pioneering, and landmark research outcomes. In terms of practical applications, the institute will generate a series of research outcomes focused on enhancing the effectiveness of international publishing communication. This will include areas such as policy optimization, mechanism innovation, content production, brand development, strategic planning, channel expansion, talent cultivation, and effectiveness assessment. In serving decision-making, the institute will provide precise and effective policy recommendations for government departments to optimize policies. It will also offer guidance for publishing enterprises in strategic adjustments and innovative strategies. By doing so, it aims to contribute the strength and wisdom of NKU to the prosperity of the publishing industry and the construction of a culturally strong nation.
The commencement of publishing education and the initiation of publishing discipline construction in Chinese universities dates back to the 1980s. NKU actively responded to the national call and, in alignment with its historical mission, established the undergraduate program in Editing Studies in 1984, later renamed as Editing and Publishing Studies. It became one of the three earliest universities in China to offer professional training for publishing talents. To this day, it has continuously provided undergraduate education in editing and publishing studies for 40 years without interruption. In 2010, NKU was among the first batch of universities authorized to confer a master's degree in the field of “Publishing Studies”. Since then, the enrollment scale has continued to expand, and the quality of education has steadily improved. Over the past 40 years, NKU has achieved significant success in publishing education in terms of disciplinary development, program development, and talent cultivation. It has established a distinctive academic focus on publishing history and theory, international publishing communication, and digital publishing. The program has been recognized as a first-class undergraduate program in Tianjin and has received provincial and ministerial-level awards for teaching achievements and textbooks. NKU has nurtured a highly qualified and experienced team of dedicated faculty members who possess a deep theoretical foundation combined with extensive industry practice. This combination of expertise has laid the foundation for talent and platform development in the joint construction of the Publishing Research Institute of NKU between the university and relevant government departments.
