Leading companies like 3M, Best Buy, Cargill, General Mills, Medtronic, and Target call the Twin Cities home. So do leading colleges and universities. It’s common to think of these separately and stereotypically — what could be more different than an ivory tower and a factory floor? But universities and industry in the Twin Cities are collaborating to create remarkable educational experiences and conduct research that solves real problems for real people.
A few such initiatives include:
Whether it’s a class project, research initiative, or new product innovation, these partnerships create personal, educational, financial, and reputational benefits. University-industry partnerships help companies grow, develop, and diversify their talent pipeline while providing a window into the future workforce and developing new perspectives. They also create the educational experiences that students crave—projects where they learn to talk to business leaders, analyze data, present ideas, and make a difference. A survey by research and education group Wiley found that 80% of students wanted to work on real-world projects; a survey by educational strategy firm brightspot, however, showed that only 56% were satisfied because there aren’t enough of these opportunities.
Insight
Only 46% of students feel well-prepared for future careers, according to the Wiley State of the Student 2022 report.
Partnerships also have financial benefits. The National Science Foundation’s Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRC) found that “every dollar put into partnership is leveraged 40 times, meaning: if a company puts $50,000 toward a partnership, they’ll leverage $2 million additional dollars in research funding.”
Reaping these benefits doesn’t come without challenges. Different vocabulary, schedules, and business models among the partners can get in the way. So can stereotypes and misperceptions about higher education and industry. Companies aren’t banks with surplus cash desperate for projects to fund; universities are not think tanks sitting idle waiting for problems to solve.
Beyond a lack of understanding, a lack of trust can also be a barrier, especially because trust takes time to build. So can timing—Q3 might be the perfect time for a company to launch its new initiative but won’t work for students. The space and technology to get together can be a challenge, too—where and how will you meet (and park)?
We’ve all seen the results of failed partnerships—unmet goals, wasted funding, acrimonious relationships. To avoid these, take the time to define the problem you and your partner are solving together, particularly before jumping to solutions. Establish common goals and make sure these align with your business strategy and institutional strategic plan. If you can’t say in a sentence how the partnership supports your strategy, don’t pursue it. Identify concrete metrics for success, and determine an achievable project type, scale, and timeline.
Then talk about sensitive topics up front before they become awkward later. You don’t want to be debating who owns the IP after you’ve created it or who’s funding what after you’ve paid for it. Finally, think through how you’ll work together: Where will the work happen? Which tech platforms will you use?
University-industry partnerships help companies grow, develop, and diversify their talent pipelines.
Once you’ve set yourself up for success with shared goals, clear funding and IP expectations, and logistical planning, there are a few things you can do to support your work together. First, take the time to really understand and empathize with each other.What’s a “day in the life” like for your counterparts? How did their last project go? What will happen for them if this project goes well? Or poorly? Second, look for opportunities to go beyond a partnership mindset to a relationship mindset. Partnerships might be binary, shorter-term, and transactional; a relationship considers people and culture over the long term. Finally, create a shared space to foster your collaboration, and make sure it’s one that both supports and showcases your work. This could be anything from a designated project room to an incubator to a whole innovation district.
An education that students value. Perspectives and insights companies crave. Programs and products that people need. We’re lucky to have leading academic institutions and companies working together to make it happen. With common goals, a thoughtful process, and the right space, they can partner for the win.
Collaboration in Action
What do these collaborative projects between academia and industry look like? Here are three examples:
University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business:
Opus believes that you can’t teach business if you’re not industry-facing and that you must maximize the student experience to stand out from the competition. To walk the talk, the business practicum course in its business analytics program focuses, guides, and mentors each small team of student consultants on an actual business problem, like optimizing a supply chain or increasing customer loyalty. Students learn how to be consultants, build relationships with client companies, and may even get hired by them. Companies get a fresh perspective that often acts as the discovery phase for continued work and see immediate benefits like operational savings. To learn more, contact John Olson at jrolson2@stthomas.edu
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Minneapolis College of Art and Design:
The Intro to Advertising Class at MCAD is an innovative part of its Entrepreneurial Studies program. It brings together students across disciplines including 3D animation, advertising, and product design. Working in teams, they solve a problem for a partner brand—most recently, Red Wing Shoes challenged the students to create retail pop-up experiences that could be easily repeatable in many markets across the U.S. In the process, students gained industry exposure, connections, and skills like listening to clients and responding to feedback. Red Wing Shoes learned how students see its brand, got a chance to put its value of “community” into practice, and saw some great ideas in the process. To learn more, contact Becky Bates at bbates268@mcad.edu
The University of Minnesota Center for Medical Device Cybersecurity: Created in 2021, CMDC facilitates partnerships between university, industry, and government so that medical devices are safe and secure from cybersecurity threats. Students can get involved through short courses on meeting both customer needs and regulatory requirements, and participating in hack-a-thons and internships. Companies and government agencies can sponsor and participate in research, attend events like a forum on the efficacy of penetration testing, and learn from guidance on interpreting the latest guidance from the FDA.
To learn more, visit cse.umn.edu
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