Engineering College partners with industry

by Jim Black, CIRAS

Activities contributing to developing a significant industrial partnership include the following:

• Membership on industrial advisory councils for the college or an engineering department,
• Active co-op and intern programs (see CIRAS News, Spring 1996), with several participants,
• Joint research programs with significant funding and commitment based on company size,
• Professional exchanges of three months or more with faculty at the partner company site engaged in professional practice and research (see CIRAS News, Fall 1996); engineering visits to ISU for teaching, coaching, collaborative research, and educational program development,
• Restricted and unrestricted gifts to the college or departments (monetary and in-kind),
• Graduate, undergraduate, or non-credit professional development courses from the college offered at partner facilities,
• Active recruitment of graduates,
• Significant number of ISU engineering graduates among company employees and leadership.

Benefits of partnering

Companies, students, and the college benefit from a strong partnering program. Companies benefit because they

• get employees with experience in their company (gained through co-ops and internships) and better opportunities to recruit top graduates, including those with graduate degrees,
• have the opportunity to influence engineering curricula (through professional exchanges and membership on industrial advisory councils),
• can increase the available resources (through restricted and unrestricted gifts) and help target research (through joint research programs),
• have access to the resources of the engineering college.

Students benefit because they obtain excellent work experience, improved course material reflecting real industry needs, and improved job placement rates. By increasing the relevance of its engineering education, Iowa State and the College of Engineering become the educators of choice for more students, thus increasing the diversity and recruitment of outstanding students. In short, the expanded inputs from industry improve all aspects of engineering education and research at Iowa State.

To help provide these benefits, the college recently hired Tom Ligouri, Director of External Relations, to establish fifty significant industrial partnerships in research and education. This is one of the goals in the "Blueprint for the Future" issued last year as part of the strategic plan for the College of Engineering. Ligouri is also responsible for enhancing communication with industry and alumni.

What is a "significant industrial partnership"?

According to Ligouri, the partnership between a company ; and ISU's College of Engineering is "significant" when the relationship is characterized by most or all of the activities listed above. Still, he says "all partnerships, even those with only one of the identified activities, are important to the college; however, the significant partnership goal shows our intent to begin deepening relationships with companies."

To learn how you can establish or expand your partnership with the College of Engineering, contact Ligouri at 515-294-2338 or send e-mail to ligouri@iastate.edu. Watch the college Internet home page http://ecs.eng.iastate.edu  forfeiture developments.

USDA loans available

The Business and Industrial Guarantee Loan Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide loans totaling more than $688 million to businesses in rural communities this year.

B&1 loans of $500,000 to $25 million per borrower are made by private lenders to businesses of any size located in communities with populations of less than 50,000; 88 percent of the funds assist businesses in communities with populations of less than 3,000. The loans can be used for most startup and business expansion needs.

For more information, contact the Rural Business-Cooperative Service in Des Moines at 515-284-4714.

CIRAS News, Vol. 31, No. 4, Summer1997

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