The idea of students running a business as part of their learning experience is something that I have been thinking about for a while. This could work within a school or college environment. IBM and Kinkos have tried something along these lines. I came across another experiment in experiential or work-based learning, which is really exciting - more so because of my interest in publishing.
Loyola College (in Baltimore, USA) has hit upon a brilliant idea, which they claim is the first of its kind. A couple of professors in the Communications Department of Loyola College have set up Apprentice House, a non-profit student-run publishing company.
Apprentice House is a non-profit student-run publishing activity originating in the book publishing course under Prof. Andrew Ciofalo in the Department of Communication at Loyola College In Maryland. The organization is an activity of an advanced elective in our journalism concentration, Book Publishing (CJ365). When the class is not in session the publishing activities are carried forward by a co-curricular organization, The Apprentice House Book Publishing Club, which pursues publishing activities through Resonant Publishing, whose principal, Dr. Kevin Atticks, is a member of the Communication faculty.Apprentice House is an imprint of Resonant Publishing, a publishing company headed by Dr. Kevin Atticks of Loyola's Dept. of Communication. Book projects are coordinated by publication teams – Loyola communication students – and supervised by a Board of Advisors. Students are responsible for manuscript selection, editing, author contact, permissions, pricing, production, design, marketing and publicity. Those who complete the course and other students interested in working for Apprentice House can register for a follow-up Practicum in Book Publishing under the direction of Dr. Atticks.
Apprentice House is just one of many experiential learning opportunities available to Loyola students in our Communication disciplines of journalism, advertising, public relations, digital media, radio and television.
The Apprentice House Board of Advisors consists of Loyola faculty and administration members, and publishing professionals from the Baltimore community. Find out more about our current Board of Advisors.
Student project teams rotate with each semester, though some students choose to work with Apprentice House throughout their college career.
The Greyhound, the student newspaper of Loyola College adds,
Apprentice House, Loyola College's non-profit student-staffed publishing company, will officially launch tomorrow, Wednesday, Nov. 16 with a reception in the Hug Lounge of the Humanities Center from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.The publisher's catalogue of recently published and forthcoming books will be announced at the reception. The Apprentice House, which was founded in 2004 by Professor Andrew Ciafalo is an activity of the Communication Department that enables students to manage the publication of original manuscripts from proposal to finished book.
"Apprentice House extends Loyola's Communication Department's emphasis on experiential learning in a new direction: book publishing. I believe we are the only undergraduate program in the country offering such opportunities," said Ciafalo.
Five books have been published under the Apprentice House imprint.
According to POD-DY Mouth, Apprentice House will be using the Print-on-demand (POD) publishing model. A remark by POD-DY Mouth sums up the initiative nicely "What better way to learn how publishing works--and I mean really works: editing, deadlines, promotion, book covers, pricing, distribution--than to start an imprint and run with it."
Something like this is eminently doable here in India - worth pursuing.
