Building the bridge between industry and universities: the graduates into SMEs project

The paper is an experience report on a project which aims to address the differences between computing employer and graduate expectations of working in a small company, and forge partnerships between universities and industry in the East of Scotland. The project is run from Napier University and promotes amongst the graduates and companies the process of getting the right graduate employee, through 'matching' expectations and skills. The graduate is further supported during the first year of employment through training and mentoring. The project attempts to define a model which can be applied to other industrial sectors.