The engineering sector looks to the academic sector as the answer for a workforce that meets the demand of tomorrow, but the challenge to produce graduates that are automatically suited for the job is too large for one institution or industry alone to solve, which is why an academia, industry sector partnership is a formidable deal.
Academia and Industry based collaboration
The world’s top engineering companies are being drawn to the educational sector as they seek to form a partnership that will provide for better approach to learning and influence better industry relevant skills. It is important to point out that a university education degree has to be fit for the future.
The engineering industry has been showing involvement in the academic sector by providing visiting teaching fellowships, performance based learning opportunities and access to research grants. This collaboration has resulted in a win-win situation for both the industries and the institutions as students get the opportunity to gain experience with globally recognised industrial brands.
With this system, industries gain access to research result and the knowledge of how to gain optimum productivity with innovative new methodologies, while students and faculty get insight into business and real life engineering challenges.
The number of research partnerships between engineering industries and academic institutions has increased drastically over the years. This is driven in part by companies need to maintain competitive edge by accelerating their innovative process, they do this by sponsoring specific research projects in universities.
This will make industries gain the much needed knowledge and expertise while the academic institutions will get the much needed funding, financial benefits and recognition.
Advantages of these Collaborative Relationships
There are numerous benefits that derive from Academia and Industry based collaboration, including benefits to the society, benefits to the universities, and benefits to the industries.
- Society benefits: Society benefits from Academia and Industry based collaboration through innovative products and technologies. The result of Industry-sponsored university research is often developed into practical products and applications that benefit the society.
- University benefits: Some universities seek industrial sponsorships because of the potential financial rewards gotten from patents and licenses that come from the commercialization of the results of academic research. This provides a means by which universities can decrease their reliance on governmental funding. Also, faculty members benefit through access to cutting-edge equipment not available in university.
- Company benefits: Academia and Industry based collaboration can help stimulate companies’ internal research programs. Academic researches help industries identify current research trends that might be useful for the design and development of innovative products and applications. This collaboration also helps to enhance a company’s reputation. Sometimes, university and industry researchers will contribute to author articles and publications that describe research results. This can also serve as a PR tool by companies to add to their reputation in the society.
The engineering sector and the academic world are mutually interdependent on each other for new innovations and discoveries to meet the demand and resolve everyday problems in the society.
This collaboration has resulted into more and more students enrolling for engineering related courses in academic institutions and faculty members being better equipped to meet the demands of the job.
