Why do our faculty members need industrial exposure?

Notably, the persistent weaker link­age between industries and universities in Paki­stan requires strategic interven­tions from all stakeholders.

Key points

• The writer is serving as Director QEC at Mirpur University of Science and Technology, AJ&K.
• Anoth­er initiative of HEC to strengthen university academia linkage is the establishment of the Office of Re­search, Innovation, and Commer­cialization (ORICs) in universities.
• One of the major unexplored reasons behind this fragile link­age between industry and ac­ademia is the limited or no in­dustrial exposure of university teachers.
• University graduates will have difficulty solving skills that are re­quired by industry.
• Over time, this model would support bridge the trust deficit that exists between academia and in­dustry.

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Although there are some valu­able initiatives by the HEC, PEC, and NTC which include manda­tory industrial internships of six to eight weeks for the engineer­ing and technology students, the impact of such initiatives is limit­ed due to multiple factors. Anoth­er initiative of HEC to strengthen university academia linkage is the establishment of the Office of Re­search, Innovation, and Commer­cialization (ORICs) in universities. While directors of ORICs are usually on extra charges, nevertheless, the effectiveness of this initiative has not been success­ful at the desired level as in numerous universities, ORICs operate with limited staff and resources. Expecting a small office alone to build indus­trial linkages for an entire univer­sity is unrealistic. At present, out of almost 260 universities, only 95 universities have established ORICs. In the recent ORIC ranking of HEC, only seven of 95 universi­ties achieved the top category, I.e. "W" category.

One of the major unexplored reasons behind this fragile link­age between industry and ac­ademia is the limited or no in­dustrial exposure of university teachers. Most university teach­ers move directly from their bachelor's degrees into master's and PhD programs. Through this route, such individuals may be­come academically qualified teachers, but this route does not create them professionals having knowledge of industrial practic­es, industrial standards, and in­dustry-oriented innovations. In plenty of cases, a teacher teaches an industrial system which he/she has never experienced. This approach may clear theoretical concepts of students, but such students will certainly struggle when they would face real-life in­dustrial challenges after their in­duction in industry.

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So why do our university teach­ers require industrial exposure in their field of research? The answer is simple. A teacher with industri­al exposure brings his industri­al experience into the classrooms, laboratories, projects, and discus­sions on daily basis. Industrial ex­perience of such teachers would not only improve the technical un­derstanding of students regarding var­ious industrial systems but additionally enhance students' problem-solv­ing skills. It would further support students to understand industrial expectations.

So how could universities support their faculty members to secure in­dustrial experience? This could be achieved through implementa­tion of structured industrial place­ment/ professional development programs under ORICs for univer­sity teachers particularly work­ing in engineering, technology and applied sciences faculties. Under this program, university teachers can spend six months to twelve months in an industry related to their field of interest/ research on a turn-by-turn basis. During this period, such faculty members will keep receiving their monthly sala­ries as usual. Landslide disrupts traffic on Alpurai-Khwazakhela Road.

So, what will be the major bene­fits of this model?

1. There will be significant im­provement in the pedagogical skills of faculty members as they will be teaching with practical ex­amples, industrial case studies and real-world problem-solving approaches.

2. During their placement in the industry, faculty members would create connections with the in­dustrial experts/ managers/ en­gineers which would assist them in future to supervise industry-rel­evant research, secure collabo­rative projects and contribute to technology transfer.

3. They would identify opera­tional challenges requiring re­search-based solutions. Upon re­turning to universities, they can transform these challenges into student projects, postgraduate re­search topics and consultancy op­portunities. This would support cre­ate a healthier research culture focused on solving local industri­al difficulties.

4. University graduates will have difficulty solving skills that are re­quired by industry.

5. Over time, this model would support bridge the trust deficit that exists between academia and in­dustry.

Admittedly, implementing such a policy would not be straightforward. Challeng­es such as shortage of faculty, and rose teaching workloads are genuine challenges. There are additionally cultural barriers within academ­ia, where industrial experience is often valued less than traditional academic achievements. Howev­er, these barriers are manageable. HEC and professional bodies such as PEC, and universities can joint­ly develop and implement struc­tured industrial placement pro­grams for faculty members. The industrial experience can be rec­ognized within promotion criteria of faculty members, accreditation frameworks and quality assurance standards.

In the nutshell, to produce in­dustry ready graduates, the indus­trial exposure of university fac­ulty members is indispensable. Their industrial experience will result in a stronger academia-in­dustry linkage which is essential for economic expansion, innovation and technological progress. Until universities and industries commence working together more meaning­fully, Pakistan will continue pro­ducing degrees faster than oppor­tunities.

Meanwhile, the writer is serving as Director QEC at Mirpur University of Science and Technology, AJ&K.

Taken together, the developments around why do our faculty members need industrial exposure? Point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.