The following is a list of the articles that appear in the September 2023 issue of University-Industry Engagement Advisor monthly newsletter.

If you are a current subscriber click here to log in and access this issue as well as your bonus webinar video, Metrics and Benchmarking for University Corporate Engagement: Breaking Down Silos to Gauge Performance.

Not a subscriber already? Subscribe now to get access every month to the best guidance available on expanding industry engagement efforts and attracting and managing corporate partnerships, as well as access to our online archive of back issues.

University-Industry Engagement Advisor
Vol. 5, No. 9, September 2023

• More industry partners seeking upfront IP options in Master Research Agreements. In their constant search to meet the needs of industry partners, a growing number of top research universities have been offering upfront IP options in their sponsored research agreements. At the same time, a number of those SRAs have taken the form of Master Research Agreements, or MRAs. The question is, do the two “work well” together?
• Western Michigan U adopts new process for building more strategic partnerships. Looking to create a cohesive framework for industry engagement and strategic partnerships, Western Michigan University undertook a multi-year effort to overhaul its entire system, an overhaul that includes a new website and software, the formation of a new team, and a proprietary valuation tool for the assessment of companies wanting to work with the university.
• Wichita State’s Innovation Campus sparks decade of industry-driven solutions. It always starts with a problem and ends with a solution. Just over a decade into the creation of the Innovation Campus at Wichita State University, that’s the through line coming out of WSU’s ongoing industry partnership efforts centered there.
• U of Illinois unveils Blueprint, a new way of thinking about corporate engagement. The Blueprint program at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois, crafted in large part based on models and input from the private sector, is finishing out its first year of operation with an important and growing partnership with global IT and consulting company Accenture.
• Industry-based faculty sabbaticals can blossom into valuable partnerships. Industry-based sabbaticals for university faculty members are not necessarily new, but as the research landscape and public-private partnerships continue to evolve, they are increasingly seen as an agile approach to grow value for campuses and companies — with universities and their faculty gaining real-world experience, and companies benefiting from fresh academic insights and useful innovations.

The following is a list of the articles that appear in the August 2023 issue of University-Industry Engagement Advisor monthly newsletter.

If you are a current subscriber click here to log in and access this issue as well as your bonus webinar video, Metrics and Benchmarking for University Corporate Engagement: Breaking Down Silos to Gauge Performance.

Not a subscriber already? Subscribe now to get access every month to the best guidance available on expanding industry engagement efforts and attracting and managing corporate partnerships, as well as access to our online archive of back issues.

University-Industry Engagement Advisor
Vol. 5, No. 8, August 2023

• Speed matters in industry contracting and early, frequent discussions are critical. There’s an old ‘saw’ that goes something like this: “You can’t expect me to be at the landing if I wasn’t there for the lift-off.” While that may be a bit of over-simplification when applied to the contracting process, industry engagement experts agree that early discussions between partners can go a long way towards improving efficiency and reaching the ‘goal line’ more rapidly — and leaving both partners more satisfied with the results.
• ‘Collaboration Accelerator’ sets stage for partnership between Vandy and Nissan. It was officially branded as a ‘Collaboration Accelerator,’ but it might just as easily have been called a ‘speed-dating’ event between a top university and a leading automaker. Whatever you choose to call it, the event – which occurred on January 19, 2022 — has not only led to other similar events, but it has served as the launching pad for discussions on about 40-50 potential projects involving Vanderbilt University and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., and “probably 12 to 15 that really had legs and are likely still moving today,” according to Sally Parker, associate vice chancellor for strategy and operations at Vanderbilt.
• Arizona community colleges and Intel are building a semiconductor workforce. The Semiconductor Technician Quick Start program offered through Maricopa Community Colleges (MCC) in Arizona is off to a blazing start, boasting a full cohort of graduates, a second full cohort already enrolled, a waiting list of thousands, and a regional high-tech economy eager to employ them at great starting wages. The success of the talent development program, sponsored by computing giant Intel, may provide a useful blueprint for others looking to engage with industry in developing needed workforce skills not only in semiconductors, but in any tech field.
• Oakland U business school program mirrors university-level corporate partner plans. Many universities offer corporate partnership programs where in return for a financial investment industry sponsors receive a variety of benefits reserved for these “special” partners, often including several tiers that mirror the level of commitment. However, it is far less common to find similar programs offered by a single school or college.
• U Maine offers free services to spur engagement and economic development. The University of Maine is taking $2.5 million in federal pandemic funding to invest in present and future partnerships with Maine businesses. The university is expanding programming and services to help stabilize and support small businesses and start-ups dealing with ongoing post-pandemic challenges that are hindering their growth.

The following is a list of the articles that appear in the July 2023 issue of University-Industry Engagement Advisor monthly newsletter.

If you are a current subscriber click here to log in and access this issue as well as your bonus webinar video, Metrics and Benchmarking for University Corporate Engagement: Breaking Down Silos to Gauge Performance.

Not a subscriber already? Subscribe now to get access every month to the best guidance available on expanding industry engagement efforts and attracting and managing corporate partnerships, as well as access to our online archive of back issues.

University-Industry Engagement Advisor
Vol. 5, No. 7, July 2023

• Before signing off on strategic partnerships, experts stress value of solid due diligence process. What do industry engagement managers look for when implementing a due diligence process with a potential strategic partner, and what key steps lead them to the decision point? Many are guided by a number of key “boxes” that must be checked off — while also recognizing that no two processes look exactly the same.
• Partnership between Ole Miss and Trane blossoms out of vendor relationship. At the University of Mississippi in Oxford, the typical university-vendor agreement for services has been transformed into a deep-dive partnership that embodies the “campus as a living lab.”
• Drexel U and Lockheed Martin create ‘Launchpad’ to the future. A long-standing partnership between Drexel University and Lockheed Martin Corporation has taken a big leap forward, with Lockheed committing to a regular presence on campus through the Lockheed Martin Launchpad, a dynamic new space that serves as a hub to foster innovation and create a glidepath to talent for the company.
• ‘Mutual admiration society’ helps U Cambridge-Boeing partnership flourish. There are any number of elements that contribute to the long-term success of a strategic university-industry partnership. Naturally, alignment on the science is critical, as is commonality of mission and philosophy. Communication, commitment, transparency — all of them help pave the way to the achievement of common goals.
• McGill’s I+P program provides matching funds to industry partners. Canada’s McGill University has taken a different tack for its Innovation + Partnerships (I+P) program by paying for half of the company’s research out of a government grant program.
• UIDP launches consulting firm to address needs voiced by its members. Responding to “the consistent request for custom services from the membership,” UIDP has launched UI Collab, a consulting firm comprised of a team of experts “with deep experience from years of service at leading universities and companies.”

The following is a list of the articles that appear in the June 2023 issue of University-Industry Engagement Advisor monthly newsletter.

If you are a current subscriber click here to log in and access this issue as well as your bonus webinar video, Metrics and Benchmarking for University Corporate Engagement: Breaking Down Silos to Gauge Performance.

Not a subscriber already? Subscribe now to get access every month to the best guidance available on expanding industry engagement efforts and attracting and managing corporate partnerships, as well as access to our online archive of back issues.

University-Industry Engagement Advisor
Vol. 5, No. 6, June 2023

• WMU launches holistic strategy for managing corporate relationships. Over the past several years, leaders in corporate engagement at Western Michigan University (WMU) have been developing an expansive program to not only enhance corporate engagement, but to also manage those relationships more effectively.
• Coalition for equitable skills training a foundational piece for Mid-South ‘Silicon Valley.’ Two Vanderbilt University pioneers are spearheading an organization known as the Coalition Responsible for Equitable Skills Training, or CREST, and are hoping their efforts will help build a solid foundation for an even more ambitious undertaking — the creation and solidification of a Mid-South ecosystem rivaling Silicon Valley — with a distinctive emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
• U Utah’s mapping strategy ensures curriculum addresses industry needs. Providing ongoing educational opportunities for employees of industry partners, especially in the area of credentialing, is a strategy being pursued by a growing number of universities as one of the ways to meet the growing demand for talent to populate the ‘workforce of the future.’
• NVIDIA partnership with U Florida prompts full integration of AI into curriculum. A partnership between NVIDIA, the global leader in AI, and the University of Florida is expected to “supercharge” the volume and quality of technology the university brings to market, revolutionize the way the university conducts research across all 16 of its colleges, and serve as a template for other universities wanting to incorporate AI into their business and education models.
• UFTI offers tiered model to help ‘formalize’ industry relationships. Late last year the University of Florida Transportation Institute (UFTI) began offering a tiered model for industry collaboration that it calls simply its “Industry Partnership” program, a detailed model with three distinct tiers — each requiring a specific donation and offering a sliding scale of membership benefits, as well as the introduction of a “Corporate Board.”

The following is a list of the articles that appear in the May 2023 issue of University-Industry Engagement Advisor monthly newsletter.

If you are a current subscriber click here to log in and access this issue as well as your bonus webinar video, Metrics and Benchmarking for University Corporate Engagement: Breaking Down Silos to Gauge Performance.

Not a subscriber already? Subscribe now to get access every month to the best guidance available on expanding industry engagement efforts and attracting and managing corporate partnerships, as well as access to our online archive of back issues.

University-Industry Engagement Advisor
Vol. 5, No. 5, May 2023

• Engagement offices look to ‘move at the speed of business’ and hold industry to the same standard. Managers of corporate engagement offices at leading research universities have long talked about the importance of “moving at the speed of business” to eliminate one of the key complaints that industry has had about academia. And they have been more than willing to do that — not only with express licenses and other streamlined agreement models, but with other changes in strategies and procedures. However, some insist that having accomplished that goal, they may actually be “out-speeding” their corporate counterparts.
• National Semiconductor Technology Center added to CHIPS Act arsenal. In April, the U.S. Department of Commerce joined the federal semiconductor fray in the business sector, releasing its nascent plan under the federal CHIPS Act to establish facilities for chip research, development, and production, and unveiling the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC).
• Stevens Institute helps upskill of corporate employees with grad degrees, certificates. The 13 employees from Northrop Grumman’s Aeronautics Engineering segment in Rancho Bernardo, CA, who received certificates in February recognizing their completion of the Stevens Master of Engineering in Systems Engineering degree program were just the latest in a long line of cohorts to graduate from Stevens Institute of Technology’ School of Systems and Enterprises’ (SSE) corporate education program.
• U Michigan launches new initiative to support research and industry partnerships. It appears that “status quo” is not in the vocabulary of the movers and shakers at the University of Michigan. No sooner had they just begun to get things rolling on a major reorganization of their research, commercialization, and industry relations efforts, they announced the launch of an ambitious initiative to generate greater external support and internal resources for their research and scholarship activities, including industry-sponsored research.
• Student ambassadors help local business partners create ‘home’ jobs for students. Two “student ambassador” programs — one of long standing, the other just getting started — both involve tapping students to network in the community to connect with industry, promote local resources and opportunities, and convince students to stay in-state and display their talents to potential employers. The efforts are enlarging the talent pipeline for local industry, while promoting state-based companies to students who may otherwise leave for other pastures.

The following is a list of the articles that appear in the April 2023 issue of University-Industry Engagement Advisor monthly newsletter.

If you are a current subscriber click here to log in and access this issue as well as your bonus webinar video, Metrics and Benchmarking for University Corporate Engagement: Breaking Down Silos to Gauge Performance.

Not a subscriber already? Subscribe now to get access every month to the best guidance available on expanding industry engagement efforts and attracting and managing corporate partnerships, as well as access to our online archive of back issues.

University-Industry Engagement Advisor
Vol. 5, No. 4, April 2023

• Input from industry partners helps identify gaps in student skills. Interfacing with and ultimately hiring talented university students has risen to the top of industry’s “most wanted” list, and university industry engagement programs have been happy to oblige. But no program is perfect, and there are nearly always “gaps” in student skills and qualifications industry partners would like to see filled. How do they learn about these gaps, and work with schools to fill them most effectively?
• Micro-internship program focused on women in tech attracts 125 companies. Sprinternship™, a paid micro-internship program of Break Through Tech that seeks to address the shortage of female employees in technology, has enjoyed incredible success in just a few short years, attracting a total of about 125 companies to sponsor Sprinterns™. Its success offers key lessons for universities looking to boost industry engagement through diversity-focused talent development.
• Tiered license options have had a positive impact for U Cincinnati. In recent years, any number of universities have implemented new licensing agreements designed to reduce negotiation time and/or make industry partners more comfortable with how IP and other key issues are handled. However, in some cases they have been met with disappointing results — at least in terms of the percentage of partners who have chosen the new options. Not so for the University of Cincinnati.
• UToronto opens ‘Blue Door’ for industry partners to explore options. The University of Toronto has undertaken a new strategy to enhance its industry engagement efforts, which it calls the “Blue Door.” The strategy stands upon three ‘pillars,’ the most visible being a website/portal.
• Roche’s Spark Therapeutics invests $575M for Drexel-based gene therapy center. A key part of Drexel University’s strategic plan through 2030 is the school’s decision to very specifically define its “Areas of Excellence and Opportunity” (AEOs), and among these is health innovation with a focus on cell and gene therapy. The plan dovetails with a major investment by partner Spark Therapeutics in a massive gene therapy center on campus that represents a massive industry engagement opportunity.

The following is a list of the articles that appear in the March 2023 issue of University-Industry Engagement Advisor monthly newsletter.

If you are a current subscriber click here to log in and access this issue as well as your bonus webinar video, Metrics and Benchmarking for University Corporate Engagement: Breaking Down Silos to Gauge Performance.

Not a subscriber already? Subscribe now to get access every month to the best guidance available on expanding industry engagement efforts and attracting and managing corporate partnerships, as well as access to our online archive of back issues.

University-Industry Engagement Advisor
Vol. 5, No. 3, March 2023

• Engagement with small businesses: Plenty of opportunity but limited bandwidth. It’s not that industry engagement executives have anything against working with smaller companies; in fact, the idea of working with these companies, including start-ups, can be the beginning of an exciting process as both the company and the partnership grow. But corporate engagement leaders admit they sometimes simply lack the time required to pursue these companies as much as they’d like.
• Ole Miss partners with HBCUs to tackle “workforce cliff” in insurance industry. Last fall, the University of Mississippi announced a program intended to address a workforce shortage and a lack of diversity in the insurance industry by partnering with agents, brokers, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
• GSK partners with FIU students to increase diversity and reduce health disparities. Although Florida International University had never previously collaborated with GSK, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, their first partnership is a biggie. On January 19th StartUP FIU, the innovation hub at the university, and GSK launched the GSK Innovation Challenge, a 12-week program in which a cohort of 31 FIU undergraduate students will seek to identify barriers to timely and effective health maintenance and care within their communities.
• U Kansas research park rebrands in bid to better target industry partners. It was created in 2009 as the Bioscience and Technology Business Center, but the research park in Lawrence, KS (adjacent to the campus of the University of Kansas) was rebranded about 18 months ago to KU Innovation Park. The non-profit economic development organization that runs the park has four equal stakeholders — the University of Kansas, the City of Lawrence, Douglas County, and the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. They insist that the change had less to do with the park’s performance than it did with sending a clearer message to existing and prospective industry partners.
• A year after launch, U Kentucky’s Innovation Connect making solid progress. On April 11, UK Innovation Connect will host the inaugural Kentucky Innovator Challenge in Lexington, coinciding with the one-year anniversary of the industry engagement program. The University of Kentucky division is marking the anniversary by holding an event that doesn’t just celebrate the milestone, but doubles as another touchpoint for corporate partners.

The following is a list of the articles that appear in the February 2023 issue of University-Industry Engagement Advisor monthly newsletter.

If you are a current subscriber click here to log in and access this issue as well as your bonus webinar video, Metrics and Benchmarking for University Corporate Engagement: Breaking Down Silos to Gauge Performance.

Not a subscriber already? Subscribe now to get access every month to the best guidance available on expanding industry engagement efforts and attracting and managing corporate partnerships, as well as access to our online archive of back issues.

University-Industry Engagement Advisor
Vol. 5, No. 2, February 2023

• Pitt enhances industry partnership efforts with implementation of customized CRM tool. The University of Pittsburgh’s corporate engagement activities have become “better and faster” since the development of a customized CRM system using Salesforce, according to Scott W. Morley, director of the Office of Economic Partnerships, which sits within the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Morley described the system in a Tech Transfer Central webinar, “Best Practices for Universities in Targeting High-Potential Partnerships,” and offered more detail and insights in an interview with UIEA.
• ASU plays key role as Arizona moves to the forefront in semiconductor industry. Some call it the “Triple Helix.” Others use a less “sexy” term, “academia-industry-government partnership,” but whatever you choose to call it, this model has been making big strides in Arizona over the past several years, seeking to make the state into “Semiconductor Central.”
• NC State partnership with Under Armour reaches ‘next level’ under master agreement. In an expansion of an already successful partnership, NC State and Under Armour have signed a five-year master research agreement and are opening an Under Armour Innovation Center on NC State’s Centennial Campus.
• Auburn and others at the forefront of auto tech tap South Korean partnerships. Auburn University’s efforts to bolster technology bonds with South Korea’s auto manufacturers — strongly supported by the Alabama Department of Commerce — have helped attract massive investments from Seoul and offer a powerful case in point of the potential value in cultivating overseas partnerships.
• University of Maine aSPIREs to 400 partnerships with new name and new focus. The University of Maine aims to engage 400 business partners by 2026 and to make the idyllic Penobscot River area the “Nanocellulose Valley” of America — a sort of Silicon Valley of renewable forest products intended to replace petroleum products.

The following is a list of the articles that appear in the January 2023 issue of University-Industry Engagement Advisor monthly newsletter.

If you are a current subscriber click here to log in and access this issue as well as your bonus webinar video, Metrics and Benchmarking for University Corporate Engagement: Breaking Down Silos to Gauge Performance.

Not a subscriber already? Subscribe now to get access every month to the best guidance available on expanding industry engagement efforts and attracting and managing corporate partnerships, as well as access to our online archive of back issues.

University-Industry Engagement Advisor
Vol. 5, No. 1, January 2023

• When industry partnerships flop: Take lessons learned and keep moving forward. Every industry engagement manager has stories about “the one that got away” — partnerships that never progressed to the desired level, or projects that didn’t pan out. Despite these experiences, it seems that few have specific tools or formal processes for examining what went wrong, and most debriefings are internal rather than external. And yet, their combined “stories” provide a fascinating picture of how they respond to such disappointments.
• U Louisville offers special cocktail of training programs for distilled spirits industry. Universities are continuing to invest in efforts to build out industry partnerships by adding adult continuing education into the mix, and the University of Louisville has distilled that strategy into a toast-worthy mix of executive education and workforce-boosting programs with help from its partner Beam Suntory (maker of Jim Beam) and other bourbon industry behemoths.
• New U Cincy institute designed to boost future workforce for Industry 4.0/5.0. The University of Cincinnati College of Engineering and Applied Science has established what they’re calling the “Industry 4.0/5.0 Institute,” designed to better prepare students for future careers as part of the workforce talent that will be required by leading firms in this space.
• Patents are a ‘no-no’ in Canadian couple’s open science consortia. It might be well past time to put away the myth that companies are loathe to work with “the competition,” or that for them it’s all about the IP.
• Industry tech scouts talk shop: What they look for and how to achieve alignment. Alignment is critical to any successful university-industry partnership, and as a panel of experts on a recent Tech Transfer Central webinar agreed, the relationship between university corporate relations executives and industry tech scouts often sets the tone for that alignment.

The following is a list of the articles that appear in the December 2022 issue of University-Industry Engagement Advisor monthly newsletter.

If you are a current subscriber click here to log in and access this issue as well as your bonus webinar video, Metrics and Benchmarking for University Corporate Engagement: Breaking Down Silos to Gauge Performance.

Not a subscriber already? Subscribe now to get access every month to the best guidance available on expanding industry engagement efforts and attracting and managing corporate partnerships, as well as access to our online archive of back issues.

University-Industry Engagement Advisor
Vol. 4, No. 12, December 2022

• Industry engagement offices shifting away from centralized model, but holistic goal endures. It wasn’t all that long ago when there seemed to be nearly unanimous agreement among industry engagement leaders that the ideal office model was a centralized structure which served as the “front door” to all partnership-related activity on campus. It was a structure like this, they reasoned, that would most naturally serve to foster the type of holistic relationship with industry partners their universities all desired.
• Ohio State and Honda use business plan to create shared strategic vision. It is the norm for major businesses to outline their strategic visions through business plans — so why not employ the same process for corporate partnerships? Why not, indeed, reasoned the industry engagement team at The Ohio State University.
• UW-Madison wins expanded contracting authority to boost industry engagement. The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents has approved revisions to contract approval policies for research and clinical trials at UW-Madison, a move expected to speed industry partnering by removing red tape on many agreements that previously required approval at the board level.
• Animal health company attracted to new home in UGA’s Innovation District. Co-location is one of the strongest signs of commitment from an industry partner to a university, and clearly a key goal for industry engagement executives. How these decisions come about varies, of course, from company to company and from university to university, but they all involve some combination of aligned interests combined with facilities and resources that can enhance the company’s mission.
• When companies locate nearby, engagement pros kick into high gear. Pandemic protocols may have ushered in remote work for many, but when it comes to building partnerships and talent pipelines physical location still matters.
• For Lockheed Martin and its university partners, it’s all about the talent. Step onto campus at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and you’ll notice the presence of Lockheed Martin. From the company’s appearances at events related to everything from engineering school recruiting to seminars on space exploration, Lockheed is “omnipresent” at Georgia Tech.

The following is a list of the articles that appear in the November 2022 issue of University-Industry Engagement Advisor monthly newsletter.

If you are a current subscriber click here to log in and access this issue as well as your bonus webinar video, Metrics and Benchmarking for University Corporate Engagement: Breaking Down Silos to Gauge Performance.

Not a subscriber already? Subscribe now to get access every month to the best guidance available on expanding industry engagement efforts and attracting and managing corporate partnerships, as well as access to our online archive of back issues.

University-Industry Engagement Advisor
Vol. 4, No. 11, November 2022

• Universities grow programs for up-skilling and re-skilling industry partners’ employees. A number of universities have long-standing programs for employees of industry partners that enable them to enhance their skill sets and their career prospects, ranging from certificate programs to advanced degrees. More recently, however, with the advent of technological advances that threaten to leave many employees behind, combined with the prospects of severe talent shortages as far as the eye can see, industry has been requiring even more programs for employees whose skill sets no longer match the job requirements of the future — and universities have been responding.
• UWM puts its spin on industry-friendly research agreement model. There is always heated competition for the finite amount of research dollars available from industry, but when one of your major ‘rivals’ is a sister institution, and when state funding support is reduced dramatically, it behooves you to think outside the box — which is precisely what the UWM (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) Research Foundation, Inc., has done in creating its “Panther Partnering” research agreement.
• Consultants streamline ISU’s partnering by harnessing data and busting siloes. With the 2021 arrival of President Terri Goss Kinzy and her background in biochemistry and education, as well as the fast-approaching launch of its new dedicated engineering school, Illinois State University found itself uniquely positioned to expand its corporate engagement efforts.
• WSU creates new contracts to broaden offerings for industry partners. In 2018 Washington State University began offering two new contract agreements to its industry partners after determining that the options in place were not adequately addressing all of their potential needs, according to Brian Kraft, assistant vice president in WSU’s Innovation and Research Engagement Office.
• Marquette expands century-long Kohler partnership with student innovation challenge. They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but several groups of entrepreneurial Marquette students would beg to differ. These students are the latest cohort to submit their ideas for the M-Prize Challenge, an event produced by the university and international manufacturing giant Kohler, its corporate partner of 100 years.

The following is a list of the articles that appear in the October 2022 issue of University-Industry Engagement Advisor monthly newsletter.

If you are a current subscriber click here to log in and access this issue as well as your bonus webinar video, Metrics and Benchmarking for University Corporate Engagement: Breaking Down Silos to Gauge Performance.

Not a subscriber already? Subscribe now to get access every month to the best guidance available on expanding industry engagement efforts and attracting and managing corporate partnerships, as well as access to our online archive of back issues.

University-Industry Engagement Advisor
Vol. 4, No. 10, October 2022

• Are industry engagement execs missing the boat when it comes to athletics? University athletics sponsorships are big money. How big? Well, according to Statista, a German company specializing in market and consumer data, college sports sponsorship spending hit about $1.25 billion in 2017-18, the most recent years for which it has data. Given the fact that Statistica’s data showed a steady annual increase from 2005-2018, the current number is likely much higher.
• ASU reworks engineering schools to mirror industry, open student career paths. It has become commonplace at large research universities to find dedicated colleges with concentrations and graduate degrees in targeted subsectors of science and research. Such colleges, and in some cases their departments, have often become their own centers of industry collaboration, with major companies actively seeking faculty and students with the expertise needed to help them solve major problems. Arizona State University has taken that targeted approach to another level.
• UChicago, AbbVie relaunch research symposium in show of partnership strength. After a brief hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, on August 19th the University of Chicago and pharmaceutical giant AbbVie, Inc. revived an annual showcase highlighting the most exciting innovations coming out of the two parties’ ongoing partnership. The singular focus on AbbVie recognizes the importance of their alliance, and for the university serves as an excellent way to steward the relationship into the future.
• Lehigh partnership links student interns with early-stage start-ups. Lehigh University and the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center have just celebrated the fifth anniversary of a partnership that gives students “scaffolded” internship experiences with early-stage start-ups. To date, 1,000 students across 65 majors have participated in the program, whose main goal is “advancing the entrepreneurial mindset of students in any discipline” through programs, classes, and mentorship.
• Network of universities seeks to expand the role of industry advisory boards. Armed with an infusion of $662,000 from the Kern Family Foundation, seven universities (University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Boston College, Drexel University, Rowan University, University of St. Thomas, University of North Alabama, and Clarkson University) will be collaborating over the next three years “to help advisory boards move from a traditional advisory role to an active partnership in engineering education.”