Successfully facilitating initiation of industry engagement in activities which involve students in engineering education, through social capital

ABSTRACT

Benefits of industry engagement in engineering education for various stakeholders are well known, but there can be significant obstacles to initiating engagement. Using social capital theory, this study investigated how stakeholders initiate industry engagement in engineering education, and the main barriers from the stakeholders’ perspectives. Semi-structured interviews were held with 21 professionals involved in the engineering industry (including academics and industry personnel). Inductive analysis showed industry engagement was initiated by all stakeholders, although reasons differed. Relationships between individual academics and their industry contacts were often key. Relying on these relationships was problematic when individuals changed roles or organisations. Relationships were also maintained through ongoing agreements or facilitated through third-party organisations. Key barriers included lack of invitations to industry stakeholders from universities, and unclear benefits to industry stakeholders of long-term engagement. The success of third parties in facilitating engagement may provide a framework for facilitating successful ongoing engagement.

KEYWORDS:

• Engineering education
• industry engagement
• engineering practice
• social capital

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the industry professionals who participated in this study, and the universities who supported participant recruitment, being: Australian Maritime College. Curtin University, Deakin University, James Cook University, The University of Melbourne, RMIT University, Queensland University of Technology, Swinburne University of Technology, University of South Australia, University of Southern Queensland, University of Technology Sydney, and The University of Western Australia. Data collection was supported by the Australian Government Department of Industry, Workplace Innovation Program and led by the Australian Council of Engineering Deans.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was supported by the Australian Government Department of Education under [Grant ID15-4951], The University of Western Australia, CingleVue International, Curtin University, Engineers Australia, and the Australian Council of Engineering Deans.

Notes on contributors

Andrew Valentine

Andrew Valentine is a Teaching Fellow in the School of Computing and Information Systems at The University of Melbourne. Dr Valentine was previously a Lecturer in the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering at The University of Queensland, where he primarily taught programming courses. Prior to joining the University of Queensland, he was a Research Fellow at The University of Western Australia. His research interests include creativity and problem-solving in engineering, technology in education, human–computer interaction, developing programming skills, and ethics education.

Melissa Marinelli

Melissa Marinelli is a Research Fellow in the School of Engineering at The University of Western Australia. Her research intersects engineering practice, management and leadership, career theory, and gender. Recently, her focus has expanded to engineering education, with links to engineering practice. Prior to joining the university, Dr Marinelli practiced as an engineering professional within the oil and gas sector in Australia and internationally, with roles in engineering design, site-based construction, risk analysis, interface and project management, and organisational leadership.

Sally Male

Sally Male is Director of the Teaching and Learning Laboratory and Professor of Engineering and Technology Education in the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at The University of Melbourne. She previously held the Chair in Engineering Education at The University of Western Australia, where she is now an Adjunct Professor. Dr Male is qualified in electrical engineering and has a PhD on engineering competencies. Her research interests include engineering employability, work-integrated learning, curriculum development, threshold concepts, and gender inclusion. Dr Male is a Fellow of Engineers Australia and Editor-in-Chief of the Australasian Journal of Engineering Education. She is a Governance Board of Engineering Institute of Technology.