Abstract:

In today’s rapid changing business environment, the collaboration between universities and the industry is perceived as an important mechanism to promote innovation and creative learning through knowledge exchange. This is evident by a significant modification in study programs that aim to explore different topics from the practical perspective. University of Applied Sciences in Ferizaj (UASF) is the best case example in Kosovo to develop collaborative activities with industry through the mobilization of students and teachers in order to enhance a sustainable growth of quality education.

This paper presents the findings of the research from the best case practices from university-industry collaboration (UIC). The subject of this study is UASF, which has more than 60 collaboration agreements with local and international companies. The industry representatives involved in this study are companies that operate in wood technology, mechanical engineering, and hospitality and tourism industry. Adopting a qualitative approach and collecting data mainly from interviews, the results of this study show that the objectives of UASF and industry actors correspond despite their diverse working environment. Furthermore, the results of this study show that UIC contributed in establishment of the industrial board at UASF, which helped to identify the needs of the industry actors in terms of producing skilled and specialized work force, as well as to develop new curricula according to the industry needs, which in turn benefit students of UASF to enhance their employment opportunities.

Keywords:

Impact, university, industry, collaboration.