Preparing students to enter the field of technical communication: industry and university perspectives

Abstract

How can a university best prepare students to enter the field of technical communication? Technical communicators need to be familiar with a range of subjects, including management theory, educational psychology, intercultural awareness, graphic arts, publications technology, database design, human factors, interview methods and user psychology. This list is open-ended, and new subjects will become important and some will disappear. The time may come when universities give maintenance contracts to graduates and deliver updated knowledge through virtual classrooms. For technical communicators, there seems no way around the necessity for lifelong learning.