Industry and university collaboration
The global Information Technology (IT) industry has grown from 800,000 workers in 1992 to 15.5 million workers in 2012. With all the ups and downs throughout its short history, IT is still one of the fastest growing industries in the world. It is estimated that the global IT industry will grow to 20 million IT workers by 2015 and 30 million by 2020 and become the key driver for global economic growth. However most future IT jobs will require at least a Bachelor's degree as the minimum, some even require advanced degrees (MS and Ph.D).
Being a knowledge-dependent area, the main challenge of IT industry is to find the right skilled workers. A recent industry study finds that because technology is changing faster than university can adjust their trainings, only a small portion of graduates have the skills needed by the industry. Unless solution can be found, the skills shortage will intensify in the next few years. With the global recession where unemployment is high, the need for more IT skilled workers opens an excellent opportunity for many college students. It is not surprising to see the number of enrollment into IT areas is increasing in recent years. However, the main issue is many universities are still lacking the proper training programs and qualified faculty. Therefore universities need to foster active partnerships between industries to improve its training program. In developed countries, research work is often given high priority but in developing countries, skills training should be given high priority. The reason is research is an investment for long term and do not have immediate impact to the economy as compare with develop skilled workers to meet industry needs that can help improve the economy. Skilled workers are needed to support the building blocks of modern society such as banking, retail, telecom, manufacturing etc. By closely collaborate with the industry, universities could provide practical training and work experiences to students so when graduate, they can be immediately put to work in industry without additional trainings.
Today most developing countries lag behind developed countries in terms of university research because they do not have proper funding and training. On the contrary, universities in the U.S and Western Europe are successfully in research and innovations because they received most funding from the industry. For many years India and China have tried to catch up in research but did not make progress because their research funding came from the governments which measured their success by the number of lengthy paperwork and publications, but not on the impact to the economy. For example, China produces over 10,000 PhDs annually in technology and engineering but has not developed any important discovery or innovation.
When university and industry collaborate, they can provide the right solutions to bridge the skill gap. There are several some programs I think are highly beneficial. For example, Industry and university have jointly create programs to guide students to select the right careers; programs to help students improving soft skills; programs to have industry people to lecture in universities on monthly basis; and program to have third and fourth-year students to work in company during the summer to gain experiences. Such programs can create a win-win situation for all stakeholders, including the students.
The demand for a global IT workforce is expected to grow multi-fold over the next few years. The current shortage is getting worst and if universities could relook at their training programs and upgrade them to be attuned with industry needs then it will be beneficial for the students, the industry and the society. For innovation to flourish industry-academia interaction needs to be strengthened and it should start now to enhance the skills of the future generation.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
