Paper Authors

Abstract

NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract

Main Menu

Session 1675

Faculty Internship In The Telecommunications Industry Willie K. Ofosu Telecommunications Dept. Penn State Wilkes-Barre

Abstract

Excelling in the categories of research, teaching and service in one’s area of specialization ultimately results in a new faculty gaining tenure. There are many approaches one can take to satisfy the requirements in any one of these categories. One approach is placement in industry. Industrial placement is a component of life-long learning plan that helps to maintain and expand technological skills 1. Through industrial placement, one can maintain currency in one’s field. Also, the opportunity of research comes up either on a new piece of equipment, or an idea that can be brought to reality that will contribute to the body of knowledge. Gaining expertise in current technology can translate to confidence of the faculty in the classroom, as well as confidence of the students in the faculty member.

This paper examines how internship in industry can facilitate activities in the three categories and how these activities will benefit new faculty members. It also discusses the need for new faculty members to get involved in internship early on in their teaching careers.

Introduction

One of the aims of all tenure-track faculty members is to make tenure at the end of the period stipulated by the respective academic institution. Each university or college has its unique requirements for tenure. The requirements for many universities and colleges fall into three major categories. These are research, teaching and service. The requirements are influenced by factors such as whether the institution is a 4-year or 2-year college, and whether their mission is only teaching or teaching and research. Schools that have technology programs may have other factors such as Engineering and Engineering Technology that will also impact the requirements.

Whatever the requirements are, it is always useful for faculty members to have some industrial experience. To gain entry into the profession as a faculty teaching in a technology program, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) stipulate that one must have some industrial experience, among other expectations. The value of this lies in the fact that it helps in bringing aspects of the real world to the classroom. This helps the students to appreciate how the theories and principles learnt in the classroom relate to practices in industry.

Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition. Copyright Ó 2002, American Society for Engineering Education. This project was sponsored by the Minority Office and SETCE of Penn State University.

Main Menu

• Citation

• Format
  • APA
  • APA - LaTeX bibitem
  • MLA
  • MLA - LaTeX bibitem
  • Bibtex
  • EndNote - RIS

Ofosu, W. (2002, June), Faculty Internship In The Telecommunications Industry Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--11013