Integration between industry and university: Case study, Faculty of Engineering at Rabigh, Saudi Arabia

Publication date: Available online 11 December 2015 Source:Education for Chemical Engineers Author(s): Abdullah Alshehri, Saud A. Gutub, Mostafa A.-B. Ebrahim, Hani Shafeek, Mohamed F. Soliman, M.H. Abdel-Aziz Collaboration between university and industry has long existed, but the rapid increase of global knowledge has increased the demand for strategic relationships that go beyond the conventional funding of research projects. University research should be developed in future to play an important role in industry and in turn economic growth. For a successful collaboration, both sides should overcome the communication and cultural divide that impair university–industry relationships across all categories and undercut their potential. Faculty of Engineering at Rabigh (FER) – King Abdulaziz University (KAU) is strategically located near major industries and facilities such as Petro Rabigh, desalination plant, steel fabrication, and cement industries, which makes FER a nucleus to solve technological problems for all these industries. Much effort has been made at FER to collaborate with these industries through mutual reciprocal visits of university and industry personnel as well as student internships. These are aimed to solve both short- and long-term technological issues at the industrial units. This will not only improve the local knowledge base and skills, but also bring confidence and trust between the two partners. It is well known that innovation does ...
Source: Education for Chemical Engineers - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research