From Industry to Academia: Case Studies of Innovative Learning Practices in a Digital Context

Abstract

Our research question focuses on how industry-based practices enable learning experiences between a wide range of collaborators and in a variety of spatiotemporal surroundings, including educational contexts, supported by the latest technological evolutions. We start with the observation that the advent of the digital transformation of our society bridges the gap between industry and academia and provides many opportunities for the future by expanding learning experiences. This change has been undeniable since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. Additionally, the success of apprenticeship training (Cerdin and Peretti in The success of apprenticeships, 2020; Montargot and Drillon in Succ Apprentice Views Stakeholders Train Learn 3:79–86, 2020) shows a growing interest in blended learning (Dziuban et al. in Int J Educ Technol High Educ 15:1–16, 2018) and ‘mixed processes and practices’ (Parsons and MacCallum in Agile and lean concepts for teaching and learning. Springer, 2019) on the part of companies and universities. Based upon three lecturers’ experiences in France, this chapter provides practical insights about how to align industry-based practices and higher education by focusing on three specific methods/approaches: ‘learning-by-doing’ through workshops, ‘project-based learning’ by means of case studies, and ‘heutagogy’ via mixed modes. Our aim is to highlight key challenges and barriers, advantages and opportunities of these three different approaches, and to suggest recommendations to support further development of innovative digital teaching and learning practices in higher education.