Industry-University Partnerships: The Wave of the Future?

Abstract

The need for close collaboration between industry and universities has resulted in a trend towards industry-university partnerships in software engineering. This need for collaboration has been caused by two separate trends in academia and industry. On the one hand, universities are in stiff competition for the best students, and have experienced a reduction in funding from traditional sources, such as government grants. On the other hand, industry recognizes the unique role the universities can play in both preparing students for the workplace and enhancing the skills of professionals already on the job. Moreover, universities want to provide students with industry experience so that they will be better prepared for their careers, and industrial organizations welcome students who have practical experience to go with their relevant course work.The number of industry-university partnerships has been increasing over the last five years, but has grown dramatically over the past year. This dramatic growth is evident when one examines successive releases of the SE1 directory on industry-university collaborations in software engineering. The initial release of the directory in 1994 included seven such collaborations (Carpenter 1994). In one year, the number of collaborations more than doubled to 16 (Carpenter 1995).Most collaborations occur between industrial organizations and universities that are in close proximity. The industrial organizations often have a role in curriculum definition, and provide the students with the opportunity for hands-on experience. Sometimes courses are delivered at the industrial locations. One early example of such a collaboration occurred between Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and a group of local industrial organizations, such as IBM and Motorola (Coulter & Dammann 1994). The industrial organizations wanted their professional employees to have a better understanding of good software engineering practice, and FAU wanted to offer a master's degree program in software engineering (MSE). FAU instituted a certificate program for all those students who completed the five core software engineering courses, based on the SE1 model curriculum (Ardis and Ford 1989), and allowed the students the option to continue for an MSE degree. Sixty-eight students received the certificate, and about forty students went on to complete the MSE. In order to jump start the program, the SE1 Academic Series videotapes were used initially, in tutored video format.The benefits of such collaborations are obvious. The university establishes a close working relationship with industrial partners and, in the case of graduate degree programs, has a steady source of qualified students. The industrial organizations get excellent education for their staff, helping the organizations in meeting long-term learning objectives.There are also some risks. There can be unrealistic expectations on both sides. The university might view industry solely as a source of students and revenue, and may not be willing to adapt their curriculum to industry needs. Industrial organizations may believe that their investment gives them the right to define the academic program. Industry may also view academic education as a panacea, and not recognize the need for other continuing education. To minimize these risks, the exact nature of the collaboration needs to be spelled out carefully, so that both sides achieve their goals, and neither is disappointed or disillusioned. Some of the best collaborations that we have seen involve the use of an Industry