Suffering from a lack of professional talents
Print Edition
THE Ben Stiller film “Night at the Museum” displays a different museum world with dead exhibits coming alive at night. From virtual to reality, that’s the dream of many museums in China.
But most museums here stand still with changeless exhibits, remote locations and amateur staff who see museums simply as a display room rather than a place to inspire people to learn and make the world a better place.
“Most museum employees are poorly trained and unprofessional,” says Lu Jiansong, a museum expert and director of the department of cultural heritage and museology at Shanghai’s Fudan University.
Lu says there is a severe shortage of museum talent in China due to the fast rise in museums in the past few decades.
This has resulted in a large number of unprofessional employees who fail to meet the demands of modern museums, which have shifted to be education and service focused from preservation and display only.
He says it is a pressing issue to improve the quality of museum staff and cultivate professionals, which is the fountain of innovation and development.
He talks with Shanghai Daily about the problems that need to be addressed in the sector.
Q: How many museums are there in China?
A: By the end of 2013, there were a total of 4,100 museums in China, including 400 science and technology museums.
Q: What’s China’s long-term goal in museum development?
A: China will continue to increase the number of museums. According to a government plan, by 2020, every 250,000 people will have one museum. In other words, China will have around 5,000 to 6,000 museums by that time.
China also encourages diversity. Museums specialize in topics like history, technology, modern art, natural history, ethnic groups, industry, community, intangible cultural heritage and specialized ones about local culture.
Of all the categories, the government wants to focus on developing science and technology museums. According to the State Council, a city with a population of over 1 million must have a least one science and technology museum by 2020.
Q: Why is China devoted to building so many museums?
A: Museums are an important measurement of a country’s cultural vitality and competence. China is building more museums to meet the cultural needs of residents while promoting cultural exchanges with foreigners.
It is worth noting that the function of museums has changed. Museums are no longer just places to preserve and study cultural relics. They also play an important role in education, study, leisure and entertainment. The core values of modern museums lie in education and services.
Q: What’s the biggest challenge in museum development today?
A: Many museums lack professional staff and experts, which is unhealthy for their development in the long run.
Only three of 140 employees have degrees in museology at the China Maritime Museum in Shanghai’s Lingang New City. This is unacceptable.
According to a 2008 survey, only 10.3 percent of museum employees across the country had a college degree or above. The figure is too low, and this has a lot to do with college and universities, which produce few talents in this field.
So far, only about 30 universities in China have museology majors, and some programs are not very good. Universities such as Fudan University, Peking University, Nankai University, Zhejiang University and Jilin University produce only 300 college graduates in the field every year, far from what is needed.
Q: What kind of professionals do modern museums want?
A: So far, Chinese museum professionals focus mainly on the study and preservation of exhibits. They lack creative ideas to help promote museums and cultural exchanges through activities.
Universities should break down the categories and cultivate specialized talents to suit the needs of different museums.
Q: What can be done to change the situation?
A: The government must compile a plan to develop high-end museum talent. For example, the museum authorities should conduct a survey to look into the needs of museums and cooperate with other departments such as scientific associations to cultivate the employees they want.
The Ministry of Education should expand the recruitment of museology majors and provide incentives to encourage more students to major in museology.
Universities and museums can be partners and carry out more internship opportunities to give students a chance to find out what they are interested in and gain practical experience while still in school.
Q: How does China’s museum development compare to foreign countries?
A: There are still too few museums in China. The United States, for example, has about 17,500 museums and most of them were built in the 1970s. The US also experienced a lack of talent at that time but it soon adjusted college disciplines to meet the demand, which has been successful. US colleges now have about 155 graduate programs in museology.
As for Japan, about 110 universities have museology majors, and around 6,000 students study every year.
China still has a long way to go before catching up with foreign countries.
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