(1300)BRIDGING THE ACADEMIC – INDUSTRY DIVIDE

摘要

UMass Lowell has long history of developing partnerships with industry both locally andnationally. The underlying philosophy of these relationships is that a partnership is a“two-way street” with an abundance of open communication. A model for this at theUniversity is the College of Engineering, particularly the Department of PlasticsEngineering, which has been a leader in establishing strong ties with industry for morethan fifty years. The department provides engineering graduates and cutting edgeresearch that ensures corporations have a skilled workforce and new products to meettomorrow’s needs. Companies provide equipment, scholarship support, advice, industryspeakers, plant tours and similar support in recognition that by doing so they have animpact on the quality of graduates and researchers that will be available to them in thefuture. A true partnership is indeed a two-way street that requires regular interactionbetween the parties to ensure mutual goals are met and a healthy relationship isdeveloped and continually nurtured. In addition to providing workforce and researchcapabilities, universities such as UMass Lowell offer access to commercially valuabletechnologies through the Office of Commercial Ventures and Intellectual Property—theUniversity’s technology transfer office. The University further “bridges the divide” byproviding incubator opportunities for promising technologies.