Universities and Industries: A Proactive Partnership Shaping the Future of Work
- Conference
- Location
-
Tampa, Florida
- Publication Date
-
June 15, 2019
- Start Date
-
June 15, 2019
- End Date
-
June 19, 2019
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
-
Continuing Professional Development
- Page Count
-
13
- DOI
-
10.18260/1-2--33486
- Permanent URL
-
https://peer.asee.org/33486
- Download Count
-
489
Paper Authors
Daniel Weagle Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Dan Weagle, Sr. Account Manager, Office of Academic and Corporate Engagement, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
Dan helps corporate leaders from across industries identify current and future challenges. He works alongside WPI faculty and subject matter experts to develop and deliver strategic partnership plans to address these challenges. These plans include proactive approaches to hiring, university research, and industry-specific graduate education for current employees. Once a strategic plan is implemented, Dan regularly meets with corporate partners to assess the impact of the plan and make necessary adjustments to maximize value to corporate partners. Dan currently works closely with companies from the energy, biotech, defense, insurance, and finance industries. Dan enjoys learning more about new technologies and the ways in which those technologies impact existing and emerging industries.
David B. Ortendahl Worcester Polytechnic Institute
David Ortendahl currently serves as Director of Corporate Relations at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, MA. In this role he currently oversees the WPI Career Development Center “Employer Team” and actively bridges the strategic corporate development for the career center in parallel with strategic initiatives of the WPI Division of Academic & Corporate Engagement and the University. He is a member of NACE (National Association of Colleges & Employers) and NACRO (Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers) and has over a decade of experience in the realm of employer/corporate relations.
David is a member of the NACRO Benchmarking Committee and is co-chair of the NACRO Member Survey Sub-committee. For NACE, he serves as the focal to organize corporate networking events for the “NACE STEM Coalition,” including the inaugural "NACE STEM Reception." David completed his MBA at Suffolk University in Boston, MA, and Bachelor’s degrees at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. He has served in a variety of roles in Higher Education at public and private universities including in divisions of Student Affairs, University Advancement, and is presently in the “Academic & Corporate Engagement” division at WPI.
Michael Ahern P.E.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
orcid.org/0000-0003-0346-2860
Michael F. Ahern, P.E. (mfahern@wpi.edu) is a Director in Academic and Corporate Engagement at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Mike leads a group that helps WPI support the educational needs of both corporate partners and individual students by developing new graduate programs for working professionals. Further, Mike teaches in WPI’s Foisie Business School and performs research to improve power grid cybersecurity for the U.S. Federal Government.
Mike started as an engineer at gas turbine engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in 1978 and joined an electric and gas utility company, Northeast Utilities (NU), in 1981. At NU, Mike rose through a series of increasingly responsible leadership positions and was promoted to Vice President in 2005. Following his retirement from NU in 2012, he joined WPI in his current capacity.
Mike earned a Bachelor of Science degree from WPI where he was selected as a member of the National Engineering Honor Society, Tau Beta Pi. He earned both Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Mike is a registered professional engineer in Connecticut and held an electric Transmission System Operator certification from the North American Electric Reliability Council.
Abstract
Universities and Industries: A Proactive Partnership Shaping the Future of Work
According to recent projections, 65% of current undergraduate students will be employed, upon graduation, in jobs that do not exist today [1]. Looking further ahead, 85% of jobs that will exist in 2030 have not yet been invented [2]. With the majority or future jobs unknown and their job descriptions undefined, how do universities prepare their students for successful careers in industry?
Likewise, industries with evolving workforces are facing increasing pressure to identify and hire candidates who are well-suited to make an impact in these newly-defined positions. A recent study found that costs associated with searching, interviewing, offering, onboarding, and training a new employee costs a company 150% of the salary for the position hired [3]. In addition, retaining top talent is proving difficult for companies in a U.S. job market exhibiting recent lows in unemployment. The stakes are high for industry to find the correct employee “fit:” someone who can make a positive impact in a relatively short amount of time and grow with the organization for years to come. Companies are increasingly turning to university partners for help.
Using the energy industry as case study, this paper will explore ways in which universities and industry are currently partnering to uncover the appropriate tools, identify desired skillsets, and determine the knowledge required for students to excel at future jobs whose descriptions remain undefined. Externally-facing offices in universities are engaging with corporate partners to identify disruptive trends in industry and ways in which their respective workforces will be impacted. The paper will highlight ways in which Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) seeks to identify, communicate, and incorporate industry needs and ideas across departments in order to positively impact the education and opportunities available to students at all levels. Industry engagement allows universities to capture a more realistic, evolving career landscape for current students as they set their sights on the workforce.
Works Cited [1] Global Agenda Council on the Future of Jobs. (2018). The Future of Jobs Report (Rep.). World Economic Forum. [2] Institute for the Future. (2017). The Next Era of Human/Machine Partnerships: Emerging Technologies' Impact on Society and Work in 2030 (p. 14, Rep.). Palo Alto, CA: Institute for the Future. [3] Swartz, M. (n.d.). How Much Does Onboarding New Employees Cost? | Monster.ca. Retrieved October 12, 2018, from https://hiring.monster.ca/hr/hr-best-practices/recruiting-hiring-advice/managing-hiring-costs/cost-of-onboarding-new-employees-canada.aspx
Weagle, D., & Ortendahl, D. B., & Ahern, M. (2019, June), Universities and Industries: A Proactive Partnership Shaping the Future of Work Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida. 10.18260/1-2--33486
ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2019 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015