Abstract:

Industry-educational (I/E) relationships are dynamic alliances with unpredictable outcomes for both parties involved, they involve investment mainly in time management, and that the risks and rewards are equally shared (Betts, & Santoro 2011). This paper provides an insight into collaborative relationships over a period of several years with an MBA program in the hospitality field and industry partners. It offers an insight into trust, communication, and industrial firm champions, and all the frameworks that are needed for successful completion of the relationship. Both partners have realised that the benefits from these collabotation (I/E) partnerships can have advantageous spin offs, these can be significant knowledge transfer, the exposure of students and faculty members to practical problems, create employment and intership opportunites for graduates and students, publications from staff involved in supervising the project and the raised profile of the company in the institution (Betts, & Santoro; Gray, Lindblad, & Rudolph, 2001). There is extensive literature on the advantages of (I/E) collabotative relationships (Hail, Link, & Scott, 2003; Adams, Chiang, & Starkey, 2001; Harryson, Kliknaite, & Dudkowski, 2007). Some authors argue that whilst this is a growing trend due to limited expertise and resourses especially in the specialist ares such as pharamacy and technological (I/E) links (Tether & Tajar, 2008; D’este & Patel, 2007). It is not a new duel relationship Furman and MacGarvie (2007), state that (I/E) collaboration goes back as far as the 19th century, the German pharmaceceutical firm Bayer had collaboration aggreements, car giant Chrysler also has a long history of joint (I/E) collaboration (Bower, 1993; Reams, 1986). The (I/E) collaboration partnership started with one international hotel chain in 2007, and this relationship has been maintained with progressive projects and some with a longitudinal perspective. In 2014 the (I/E) collaboration has grown to six international companies.

Pedagogical basis of projects:
Few examples of the holistic experience exist in the literature, and this paper is an attempt to record challenges of such projects for all parties. The projects described in this scheme are based on a theoretical educational framework (Juskiw and Glanz, 2011) that draws on action research (Dickens and Watkins, 1999; Lewin 1946; Realin, 2006), problem based learning (Siok San Tan & Ng, 2006; Laughton and Ottewill, 1998) and and appreciative enquiry (Cooperrider and Sekerka, 2006).