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For the past several years I have been teaching professional English for the printing industry at the University of Wuhan, China. I had delivered lectures there while I was president of the NPES, The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies. After retirement, I was asked if I would teach the subject for a 3-month period to which I readily agreed.
I was well prepared because, for 30 years, I had served as the CEO of the association which had offices in -Tokyo, Shanghai, New Delhi, Sao Paulo, and Moscow, and I frequently made presentations about the state of the U.S. printing industry. My entire working life was in the printing industry, one way or another. Of course, printing and packaging are closely related so I was also involved in developments of packaging as they related to the printing aspect of the process. I was not completely surprised when I was asked to teach a 6-week course in the spring of 2008 not only for professional English for the printing students, but also to teach a course for the package engineering students.
I quickly turned to the Packaging Machine Manufacturers Institute (PMMI) for information to supplement my knowledge of the packaging industry and it generously provided me with current statistics concerning the strength of the industry, particularly its growth in the developing countries.
There’s no question that packaging is a growth industry around the world but it is growing at break-neck speed in China. In many cases in the past, a product was produced in China and shipped to customers in North America that performed the final packaging and shipped the product to distributors or the ultimate end user. Today, products are produced and packaged in China ready for store display. Improved printing technologies have helped to make this possible.
After completing my research I sent my lecture notes and PowerPoints to my assistant at the University for subjects such as the global market for packaging, sustainability, environment and the green seal, standards, package design, communication technologies, legal and business terminology, printing techniques, and substrates.
Granted, this was a huge collection of subjects to be delivered in a relatively short time but the dean advised me that they have plenty of technically qualified instructors, but they are not sufficiently up to date on the subjects she wanted me to teach.
Attending college in China is almost exactly the same as it is in the U.S., with the exception of a number of noteworthy differences. Chinese students attend class seven days a week and the semester is 20 weeks versus 16 (typically) in the U.S. The classrooms are neither heated in the winter, which is very cold and damp, nor air-conditioned in the summer, which means it gets very hot!
I was well prepared because, for 30 years, I had served as the CEO of the association which had offices in -Tokyo, Shanghai, New Delhi, Sao Paulo, and Moscow, and I frequently made presentations about the state of the U.S. printing industry. My entire working life was in the printing industry, one way or another. Of course, printing and packaging are closely related so I was also involved in developments of packaging as they related to the printing aspect of the process. I was not completely surprised when I was asked to teach a 6-week course in the spring of 2008 not only for professional English for the printing students, but also to teach a course for the package engineering students.
I quickly turned to the Packaging Machine Manufacturers Institute (PMMI) for information to supplement my knowledge of the packaging industry and it generously provided me with current statistics concerning the strength of the industry, particularly its growth in the developing countries.
There’s no question that packaging is a growth industry around the world but it is growing at break-neck speed in China. In many cases in the past, a product was produced in China and shipped to customers in North America that performed the final packaging and shipped the product to distributors or the ultimate end user. Today, products are produced and packaged in China ready for store display. Improved printing technologies have helped to make this possible.
After completing my research I sent my lecture notes and PowerPoints to my assistant at the University for subjects such as the global market for packaging, sustainability, environment and the green seal, standards, package design, communication technologies, legal and business terminology, printing techniques, and substrates.
Granted, this was a huge collection of subjects to be delivered in a relatively short time but the dean advised me that they have plenty of technically qualified instructors, but they are not sufficiently up to date on the subjects she wanted me to teach.
Attending college in China is almost exactly the same as it is in the U.S., with the exception of a number of noteworthy differences. Chinese students attend class seven days a week and the semester is 20 weeks versus 16 (typically) in the U.S. The classrooms are neither heated in the winter, which is very cold and damp, nor air-conditioned in the summer, which means it gets very hot!
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