Teaching Change: How publishing students can develop expertise to cope with digital challenges

This paper explores the ways to equip students of publishing with the skills necessary to enter an industry facing unprecedented change. Digital strategies and business models are evolving rapidly within the book industry. Publishers need to recruit for the digital environment and can find it difficult to identify employees with the sort of skills they need. A short study was undertaken to explore the importance of teaching publishers in training about the skills required to design effective digital strategies in an environment that is always changing. Developing a simulation approach in this case allowed students to experience decision making, problem solving, and creative thinking, enabling them to be ready to adapt as the industry moves forward, and preparing them to be the publishers of the future.