(123) INDUSTRY COLLABORATION AND HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS: EXPERIENCES IN WORKING COLLABORATIVELY IN EXECUTIVE EDUCATION CURRICULUM DESIGN AT A HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION IN IRELAND

摘要

With the recovery of the global economy, organizations are focusing again on growth. This in turn iscausing senior executives globally in all industries to acknowledge the need to brush up on their skills.In addition, executive education in Ireland is increasingly being recognized by many organizations (inboth the public and private sector industries) as an essential tool for developing their executives. Theunderlying suggestion being that it can improve executive decision-making by creating andtransmitting knowledge, which in turn has a positive effect on organizational performance. As a HEI(Higher Education Institution) based in the North-West of Ireland, LYIT (Letterkenny Institute ofTechnology) has designed two executive post-graduate programs in recent years in conjunction withthe public and private sector industries. Each of these programs incorporate the differing needs ofboth the public and private sector industries. In designing the curricula for these programs, acomprehensive collaborative process involving the relevant stakeholders was initiated. Thiscollaborative process was and is evolutionary and continuous in nature. In this paper, the authorsexplores endeavors by LYIT to work collaboratively with both the public and private sector industries.This is explored through secondary research, including data sourced within LYIT, and primaryresearch developed in collaboration with industry. Secondary research was used to analyze thedesign of the two programs in question. The source of this information was from literature relating tothe area of interest and the relevant program submission documents from LYIT. This also involvedanalysis of the research carried out at the pre-design stage for these programs. The primary researchwas carried out in conjunction with the Periodic Program Evaluation process at LYIT with a view toexploring how to better align the programs curricula with public and private sector industry needs. Anumber of key findings have emerged from this research. Most notably, HEIs do not exist in a vacuum.Academic theory is continually being adjusted to reflect the role of other stakeholders in curriculumdesign. Collaboration with relevant stakeholders should become an integral part of any curriculumdesign. The research also confirmed findings from other reports internationally that whilst technicalexpertise is still important, soft skills are becoming more in demand for individuals moving into seniorexecutive positions. In addition, different industries have varying needs. Therefore, the involvement ofindustry in the design of curriculum is vital. It is also essential to develop customized curriculum tomeet the needs of the individual student and industry. Indeed this is also confirmed by other nationalreports highlighting that customized programs, designed especially for individual companies, havepresented the strongest growth over the past three years. There should also be opportunities forcritical reflection throughout the academic program for student, industry and the HEI. Collaborationbetween industry and HEIs is essential in dynamically designing new and ever-changing curricula inorder to address student and industry requirements going forward.