ANALYSIS OF UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY RELATIONS
A Case Study
Anrieta Draganova and Patrick Doran
College of Information Technology, Zayed University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Keywords: University-industry relations, Tertiary education, Industry partnership, Information technology education.
Abstract: The study investigates the relationship between university and industries in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates
(UAE). The research calls for building a bridge between universities and industries and rallies for enhanced
“cogency” of information technology education, strengthening the academia to industry partnership. This
was influenced by discussions with female Emirati undergraduates at Zayed University in Dubai in 2009,
where graduates from the College of Information Technology proposed means to initiate creating feasible
and sustaining links between local tertiary educational institutions and local industries. Approaches were
used to support collaboration between academia and industry, and college programs were employed to
narrow the gap between university education and industry. Undergraduate programs need to adapt to industry
to ensure graduates gain industry-demanded skills and experience. The investigation suggests that practical
and constructive measures are to be taken to effectively develop collaboration between university and
industries.
1 INTRODUCTION
The Information Technology (IT) education in
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) faces new
challenges such as increased demand for qualified
seasoned graduates in IT, new teaching methods in
academia, increased educational tuition, and
decreased funding that are linked to the search of
educational cogency in IT undergraduate programs.
This forces the colleges of IT to re-evaluate their
programs and offerings, and to undertake a
reconstruction of their current educational
infrastructure (Akili, 2005). “The aim of this
collective is to promote coordination between
members in all fields in order to achieve unity”
(Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum, 2010).
This study used empirical sources and data to
discuss the impact of university-industry relations.
The authors of the study considers the relation
between universities and industries to be based on
the basic missions of the university: teaching,
building and transfer of knowledge, and research and
innovations in.
University-industry relations are a somewhat new
subject of research. To understand the present
situation of Information Technology education in
Dubai, it is essential to learn about the current
educational system, its organization and early
development, and the informal aspects that lead to
the current situation. The higher education
interaction with external business and industry
partners is extremely important. The participation
and knowledge of government and industry need to
be encouraged to help master the educational
challenges that affect information technology
education in the region. The participation of industry
in adjusting information technology education
creates a valuable reciprocal relationship between
universities of Information Technology programs.
While such a relationship may be somewhat difficult
to develop, it could contribute to improvement of the
educational system in Dubai and the region (Akili,
2000).
In some developing countries, the relationship
between university and industry has not been
successful (Alwan & Obeid, 2000), because of
problems at both local tertiary educational
institutions and industries. The industry may be
managed by governmental laws that restrict the
consideration of innovative products, which
discourages development and research. Issues with
universities could include limited industrial
knowledge by faculty and their applied research
abilities low enrollment numbers of undergraduate
71
Doran P. and Draganova A. (2011).
ANALYSIS OF UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY RELATIONSA Case Study.
In Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Innovative Developments in ICT, pages 71-76
DOI: 10.5220/0004471900710076
Copyright
c
 SciTePress

students at universities. Although there are
difficulties, there is an increasing interest in
improving the university-industry relations in the
Gulf Region (Tawfig & Awlama, 1999). The
research aims to present some of the complex issues
about “connectivity” between university and
industries in Dubai. The authors discuss the urgent
need for universities to establish an effective and
long-lasting interaction at foundation level so that
there would be mutual interests of participants on
both sides (learners, instructors, researchers, and
industry partners) to be effectively satisfied. Indeed,
the successful achievement in this interaction is to
create dynamic education in the area of information
technology, by bridging universities closer to
industries.
There has recently been an urgent call for
students and faculty to become engaged in “real
practical problems” and to participate in providing
real-experience solutions. Teaching instructional
material in blended learning communities is not
enough (Draganova, 2010). Educators need to bring
their own knowledge and skills to the classroom. So
far, universities are indisposed to working with
businesses and industries and both business and
industry’s apathy to those matters have troubled
academics. This is one of the critical reasons for
universities “weakness” that has taken over the
academic world of Dubai. These problems need to be
rectified such that industries begin to interact
actively with university programs, and to participate
in teaching practical abilities and skills to the
students. The participation of industry in students’
learning processes provides graduates with “real life”
experience which at the same time narrows the gap
between universities and industry. Universities and
industries need to focus on developing approaches
and to strengthen their collaborative efforts in
support to university graduates. Internship programs,
capstone projects, hands-on training, joint
interdisciplinary capstone projects, and faculty
perceptions aimed to facilitate the cooperation
between the two parties are essential.
The authors draws on their own experience as
faculty members at Zayed University in Dubai. In
addition perceptions and suggestions from graduates,
colleagues, and business managers in the area are
evaluated. The authors had numerous meetings with
managers from leading industries in Dubai and
university specialists, to discuss the status of
university-industry relations (UIR). Universities and
industries agree that mutual cooperation and relation
is needed to effectively develop and foster
universities to have more substantial information
technology education, and industries to have better
prepared graduates. Through cooperation, the
industry can enhance its reconnaissance potential and
subsequently enhance its innovative ability (Bright,
1994). Furthermore, results reveal the effectiveness
of collaboration between students and the industry
partners (Bright, 1994).
The University-Industry Relation (UIR) has a
special effect on the universities by keeping them up-
to-date with advanced technological developments in
industry. Examples include incubators for
technology-driven entities at universities. This helps
universities and enterprises increase and expand their
functionality in the process of innovation (Etzkowitz
et al., 2005). Guston and Kennington, (1994)
identified the success of a UIR as a “new social
contract” for science.
The research aims to shed light on the UIR in the
form of joint university and industry organization,
located at a single physical site. Suggestions are
made focusing on reducing barriers to UIR success
(Fontana et al., 2006). Example of such an
organization is Microsoft Laboratories in USA.
2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
This research aims to assist university educators in
searching for better possibilities to initiate, develop
and monitor collaborative work between students
and industries. Market studies
(Alwan & Obeid, 2000)
have shown that there is little written about the
availability of information and tools to develop
strategic methods for collaborative research,
negotiation, and clarification of the relationships
between universities and industries. In this study,
guidelines are proposed to encourage university
educators to better relate to industry partners. The
proposal recaps important policies in academia and
makes an attempt to refine roles and relationships
between university educators and industries.
In response to job market requirements,
industries have focused on attracting university
graduates to assist in the establishment of long-term,
knowledge-based economies. Universities and
industries will need to develop mutually effective
relationships with one another. The authors of the
study aim to present guidelines for efficient
collaboration between university and industry at
Zayed University, Dubai. The objective of this
research is to provide an enhanced understanding of
the mechanism of university–industry relations and
to develop a framework and tools for Zayed
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University (ZU) to further use to relate to the
industries. The objectives include:
 Revision of current university-industry relations to
encompass current barriers and issues;
 Analysis of the literature on effective experience
patterns globally;
 Investigation of interaction and collaboration
between universities and industries needed for the
effective relation between the two;
 Investigating the impact of university-industry
relations on academic outcomes;
 Development of an effective framework for Zayed
University to industry interaction.
3 METHODOLOGY
This research used qualitative research methods
consisting of:
 Literature review to analysis of university-industry
experiences globally.
 Data collection from Zayed University on existing
practices of interaction with industries (a survey)
 Data collection from Dubai industries on their
perceptions towards effective relations with Zayed
University, conducted through four in-depth
interviews with industry senior managers and site
visits.
 Data collection of perceptions from Zayed
University faculty members on enhancing relations
with local Dubai industries, using questionnaires and
conducting interviews.
 Report about data collection, recommendations,
and recording of findings.
 The questionnaire was used to collect quantitative
data to prepare a comparative study. The literature
review was conducted on university-industries
relations (UIR) to identify significant resources of
motivation, barriers, and solutions to defeat these
barriers were singled out. The data was collected and
a questionnaire used to define that all important
aspects of UIR were analyzed.
4 SURVEY
The relations and collaboration between a university
and industry can take a large number of different
forms, which may relate to students (aka learners),
faculty (aka educators), and industry, depending on
the degree of their protocol and complexity. These
forms include the 18 forms grouped into 3 categories
as shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Forms of university-industry relations.
Educators Learners Industry
Advising
Undergraduate
Projects
Capstone Projects Industrial
Companies
Research (Funded) Scholarships Business
Innovations
Lab Courses Technical Lab
Training
Organize Meetings
Collaborative
Training
Collaborative
Training
Industrial
Advisory Board
Courses Academic
Courses
Organize
Activities
Membership in
Professional
Societies
Employment Industry Funded
Scholarships
Faculty
Professional
Development
Student Practical
Training
Professional
Societies
Site Visits to
Industry
Site Visits to
Industry
Development of
Curricula
Data was collected on existing forms of relations
between universities and industries across university
colleges; a detailed study by Career Services at
Zayed University was performed across all
university colleges.
5 SUGGESTED FORMS OF
UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY
RELATIONS
 Partnership with industry experts and consulting
offices;
 Cooperation with international companies and
these in the Golf;
 Professionals sent to Zayed University for
continuing education on scholarships sponsored by
the industry;
 Companies offer employment to ZU graduates.
 Industry professionals perform educational advises
in other universities;
 Professionals from industry teach courses as
adjunct instructors and supervise these at the
university;
 Professional development at universities and
industries host faculty and industry experts;
 Expand visits to industry.
ANALYSIS OF UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY RELATIONS - A Case Study
73

6 RECOMMENDATIONS FROM
THE PRESENTATIONS
The in-depth interviews with senior managers from
industries in Dubai presented experiences and views
of four leading companies such as DUBAL,
TECOM, KHDA, and DEWA. The themes of their
presentations included university-industry relations
to build on developing research projects and
enhancing faculty technical experience in the
industry. Topics collected from the interviews
include:
 Need to proper publicize ZU research;
 Mutual cooperation between university and
industry in the areas of research and professional
development;
 Technical skills hands-on training by industry
instructors to students while attending ZU
undergraduate academic program;
 Bridging the gap between university-industry by
developing of an innovation system between the two;
 Create incentives for faculty to work in industry to
build experience to convey to the students;
 Include consultation by faculty members to their
academic portfolio to encourage university and
industry to relate better;
 Increase communication between university and
industry to mitigate the misunderstanding between
universities and industry.
7 SUGGESTIONS FOR
CONNECTING TERTIARY
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
AND INDUSTRIES
There are numerous reasons for university and
industry to collaborate. There are also factors that
vary such as university and industry culture for
collaboration, demographic location, category of the
university, and possibly the size and capacity of the
industry (Hutt et.al. 2000). Based upon the authors
own’ collection of empirical data, there were four
main barriers such as (i) faculty interactions with
industries, (ii) Lack of connecting undergraduate
research with industries, (iii) learner’s training by
industries, and (iv) Resources and funding for
laboratories at tertiary educational institutions.
Below are suggested forms for collaboration
between university and industry:
 Establishment of funding and budgeted resources
for laboratories at universities;
 Connecting ZU with industries in Dubai;
 Improvement of teaching;
 Acquiring latest technological novelties;
 Access to empirical data from industries;
 Establishment of long term research projects;
 Professional training of students/Development of
effective Internship programs;
 Establishment of reputational relation between
university and industry;
 Organize monthly meetings and workshops
between educational institutions and industry;
 Job opportunities for university graduates;
 Cooperative work between educational institutions
and industry;
 Involve industry in to Capstone projects at
university;
 Development of a strategic plan that sustains
cooperative relation between universities and
industries;
 Learn from other university-industry experiences
and best known approaches worldwide.
8 NEED FOR UNIVERSIT-
INDUSTRY RELATIONS
With the advent of information technology
development, the new challenge for the universities
is to keep up with the profession, a mission that was
not challenged during recent times of relative
stability. The information technology profession is
global and undergoing critical changes, including:
ample intellectual connection, developing new
technical skills, new teaching and learning
approaches, diminished employment opportunities
and job security, and challenging accreditation
prospects.
The authors’ motives for investigating the impact
of collaboration between university and industry
arewell aligned with the literature, in particular with
Hurmelinna’s study about the motivation for
collaboration that was described as an improvement
of teaching followed by financial funding and
enhanced reputation (Henderson et. al., 1998). The
source that documented the “knowledge increase”
from industry and the usage of empirical data from
industry was endorsed by Reynolds (2004) who
supported university instructors’ publications,
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entrepreneur-ships, and cooperation with the
industry.
Another motivational prospect is the job offer
opportunities for university graduates that cultivate
the reputational relation between the university and
the industry. On the industry’s side, the motives are
an early access to latest technological novelties, the
establishment of long term research projects, and
students’ training while attending internship
programs. In addition to the job opportunities for
graduates, Azaroff (1982) stated that the
collaboration on research might increase its
efficiency and reduce cost for recruitment of
graduates.
9 CONCLUSIONS
The foundation of a departmental unit at university
grounds with the purpose to entail in university-
industry relations is perceived by the stake holders as
efficient. This allows better selection of projects that
enhance the output of important scientific projects to
be transferred to the operating units of the industry.
The above-mentioned entity gains reputation as an
innovative one while in the process of producing
new and relevant outcomes both with an academic
and a technical implementation. Drawn from two
years of practical experience some good experiences
have been discovered:
 Development of jointly shared targets and
activities;
 Development of community of trust and openness;
 Policy of transparency in intellectual properties and
publications;
 Team work between academia and industry
partners.
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