The focus of industrial relationships for the Foundation Coalition in its first two years has been different by design at the coalition level and the individual institutional level. At the coalition level a National Advisory Board, comprised primarily of strategic level people from industry, education, and government, was formed with a broadly defined role that includes providing input relevant to Coalition vision and long-range strategic directions; providing input on desired student outcomes to guide curriculum development; and helping promote acceptance and support of curriculum change among the various affected constituencies (industry, the broad engineering community, accreditation agencies, government agencies, faculty, and students). Of the ]8 current Board members, 14 are from industry. The Board has provided assistance to this point in defining student outcomes, strategic planning, budgeting, and locating internships for Coalition students. Future plans are to involve the Board more in development efforts to obtain financial matching support from industry and private foundations.At the institutional level industry interactions have focused on specific activities to bring industry personnel (including, but not limited to, members of the Advisory Board) to campus and vice versa, i.e., to give students and faculty the opportunity to visit various industries, particularly those that employ the graduates of Foundation Coalition schools. The industry visitors have been especially helpful in establishing and increasing support for the Coalition goals and programs among students and faculty at individual institutions. Some of the industry visits arranged by individual schools have been expanded when appropriate to include representation from multiple Coalition schools.The Coalition continues to attempt to expand and better utilize the industrial interactions outlined above, particularly its interactions with the National Advisory Board, which has already proven to be a valuable resource, but one somewhat under-utilized to this point.
展开▼
