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Session 2260

Working Toward the Successful Deployment of Post -graduate Research Students on University-Industry Collaborative R&D Projects

T.A. Barnes, I.R. Pashby & A.M. Gibbons.

Warwick Manufacturing Group, University of Warwick, England.

1. Introduction

Against a background of increasing international competition and rapid technological change, governments are actively encouraging collaboration as a means of improving innovation efficiency and thereby enhancing wealth creation 1, 2 . Collaboration provides companies with the means by which to advance technologically, at lower cost and with less inherent risk 3, 4 . Collaboration also provides access to a greater breadth and depth of knowledge and technologies than would normally be possible through internal development. For universities the benefits of university-industry collaboration include additional public and private funding, opportunities to up-date teaching and case study material and a valuable source of industrially relevant as well as academically challenging research projects for research students 5-7.

However, these considerable potential benefits are often not realised in practice 3. The major reason is that collaborations between, often diverse, organisations, need considerable management effort in order to be successful. Given the substantial investment (both public and private) currently being made in collaborative research activities, it is clearly important to ensure that collaborations are managed effectively, in order to maxim ise the benefit achieved from such activities. A particular source of problems are the cultural differences that exist between academia and industry and the correspondingly different outlooks of these two parties continue to present major challenges to those involved in such collaborations and to the ultimate success of collaborative R&D projects 7-9. This paper will, in particular, concentrate on the effects that such cultural differences can have on the endeavours of post - graduate students working toward a research degree on university-industry collaborative R&D projects.

This work examines the evidence from case studies of collaborative R&D projects undertaken by Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), University of Warwick, England and its industrial partners, and presents guidelines for the management of post-graduate research in such situations. Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), University of Warwick has, since it’s foundation in 1980, established a substantial involvement in collaborative research with industry. It was therefore considered that the Group provided an excellent opportunity for a study of management practice within collaborative projects involving academic and industrial partners.

Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright 2002, American Society for Engineering Education

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Barnes, T., & Pashby, I., & Gibbons, A. (2002, June), Working Toward The Successful Deployment Of Post Graduate Research Students On University Industry Collaborative R&D Projects Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--10966