A survey of types of industry-academia collaboration

Abstract

Collaborations between industry and academia are, when properly designed and managed, beneficial to both the industry partners and the academic institutions. Such collaborations may take place on both small and large scales, and may involve varying numbers of academic institutions and industry partners. They may also have different purposes, including both research-focused collaborative efforts and programs designed to connect undergraduate students with real-world projects to enhance their education. In this paper, the authors will provide a survey of different models of industry-academia collaboration in engineering and engineering technology. The paper will include both a survey of existing literature on the topic as well as a survey of publicly available information on existing collaborations. While the primary focus is on collaborations within the United States, some literature on international collaborations will also be included in the survey. It will discuss several different collaboration models, and what factors appear to be significant in those collaborations. Finally, it will conclude with recommendations that can be used to study specific aspects of industry-academia collaborations.