Abstract:

In the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) the academic system of the member countries is requested to improve the practical skills demanded by the society, since companies often expect from new graduates that they be “ready to work”. Nevertheless the connexion between theoretical concepts and daily applications is not necessarily obvious during the learning process, neither for the students nor for the instructors. Most of the technical lecturers are specialised in a certain research field and/or they maintain collaborative contact with the nearby companies. Within the teaching context, the investigators are required to take advantage of their expertise on a specific subject and their relation with the industrial sector. Specialisation programs based on this framework would result in the improvement of the education quality and in the enhancement of the employment opportunities in the labour market. Therefore, academics are encouraged to take into account their research activities and the regional industrial network for providing engineering students with additional theoretical and practical training in topics of interest. In particular, teaching schemes based on complementary seminars and workshops are suggested to be developed making use of the research laboratories and their resources (facilities, software, etc.). This methodology allows the student to apply their knowledge on multidisciplinary levels and to be actively involved in all the phases of the engineering design process. Going from the generality to a particular application in a practical environment shows the degree of conceptual understanding and the transition from theory to practise. Moreover, orienting the case of study to the needs of the local industry could lead to a tangible impact on the students work prospects and on the regional development due to the promotion of the academia-industry relationship.

Keywords:

Education-research relation, academia-industry relation.