I have just started my student internship at Hong Kong University Press, and my duties rotates between the marketing division and a central database project.
Having met the Marketing Manager Ms. Chau on my first day, I eventually learned a lot more about the company’s publishing procedures, and obtained an overview of academic book publishing in Hong Kong. HKU Press was established in 1956, and every since then it has been a bilingual publisher of works both in English and Chinese. The company publishes the majority of their books in English and strives to achieve for them the widest international distribution, so intra-regional conversation as well as exchanges with North America and Europe are highly valued. The scope of their publications focuses on cultural studies, film and media studies, Chinese history and culture.
In the marketing division, I am working closely with the Publicity Manager Ms. Lim, who assigns various types of tasks to me, including flyer design, copywriting, event curating, and general PR communications.
I was also lucky to be invovled in the desing of 2015 annual catalog.
To be honest, I was quite surprised to learn that more than 70% of HKU Press titles have an e-book version, and they are working to build up a brand new central database, where information of approximately 2,000 published titles is digitalised and made easily accessible by authors and publishers from around the globe. The fact that academic publishers and even the entire academia are embracing digitalisation is going to shape the way we develop and store our knowledge in the future.
As an academic publisher affiliated with Hong Kong University, the company does not have too much concern over book sales, but instead focuses on publishing titles that represent high-quality scholarship in Hong Kong and worldwide. Being interested in both research and publishing, I find working for HKU Press extremely desirable for me, as I now have some in-house work experience with an academic publisher, and will get the opportunity to communicate with international readers and reviewers.
This is the very first time that I have been working for an academic publisher, and I feel very fortunate to be selected as their first intern in the past three years. For now, I truly enjoy working in this environment, with like-minded people who are equally passionate about academic publishing and dedicated with their work. I hope to share more of my experience at HKU Press as I proceed with my internship, and who knows what I will discover down the road?
Image Credit: Publishing Insights / Hong Kong University Press
Publishing Insights 
Congrats on this new chapter in your life!
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Reblogged this on Crownless Publications.
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Nice to know that “real” internships still exist….
As a former publisher myself (previously based in HK, and with fond memories of visiting the HKU law faculty), I hope you can put this experience to good use!
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Thank you! Yes I know what you mean, and I’ve had a few internships from which I learned little about the industry or workplace environment in general. I do hope that this internship experience will allow me to learn a lot more about publishing, and eventually lead to other exciting positions!
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Congratulations! The company for which I worked used to co-publish books with HKUP. It must be very interesting for you!
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Thank you! I am really enjoying this…… 🙂
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Congratulations, enjoy it!
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Congrats on the internship! I had a similar experience when I was an intern. I wrote copy, edited workbooks, worked with the graphics department, maintained product information, and more. Working with a small company, especially as an intern, is great because you get a variety of opportunities and can really find what you like doing.
We have digital versions of most products, too. Actually, some are only available digitally. It allows instant access, which people seem to love. Plus you don’t have to carry books around. (Though I gravitate towards print books myself. Putting away the electronics from time to time is nice.)
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That’s exciting! I hope you enjoy your time there.
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Good show you! I hope it is a paid internship. Great post too.
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