“Packaging is Awesome!” is one of Dr. Andrew Hurley’s favorite sayings, and he continually strives to share his passion with as many people as possible. As an Associate Professor and Director of Entrepreneurship at Clemson University, he has crafted a hands-on approach for his students to build packages from a data-driven perspective – walking them through the various stages — including brainstorming, prototyping, market research, sustainability, and life cycle analysis — so that they create packages that arrive under budget, show reduced damage, and are sustainably designed. Andrew ensures that his students understand the broad impact of sustainability and how it extends beyond the bin and into waste streams.
Andrew is constantly on the move, attending conferences and events on a variety of packaging topics, not the least of which is sustainability. During these conferences, he realized a need for professional development in the packaging industry, so he founded PackagingSchool.com as a way to reach those who need packaging knowledge but cannot stop what they’re doing to go back to school and pursue a traditional degree.
Andrew is always on the lookout for new topics, partners, and collaborators; his team is currently working on a series of lessons that review each of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. He is also a packaging innovation consultant at Quad, and has worked at companies that include Kraft Foods and Milliken, just to name a few.