University-Industry Collaboration in Learning in the Workplace and Community Project Work

Learning in the Workplace and Community (LiWC) is becoming a key feature of all programs and courses at Victoria University (VU). From 2010, all VU courses must include learning in a workplace or a community setting. Various approaches to teaching and learning, including field work, clinical placements and industry or community-based projects, fall under the LiWC umbrella. Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centred strategy where students work in small groups on the solution of challenging real-life problems and it therefore offers an effective way for implementing LiWC in engineering education. The implications of the LiWC policy for VU‟s engineering programs is that, starting from 2010, VU will be seeking greater collaboration with its industry and community partners in the development, facilitation and assessment of LiWC projects. The study outlined in this paper was conducted to explore matters related to the collaboration of academics and industry professionals in engineering education. The specific focus was on the investigation of issues relevant to the collaborative development, facilitation and assessment of LiWC projects. But, more specifically, the paper aims to address the question “What role should industry partners play in LiWC project work”.\ud The research approach used was the use of an online questionnaire to collect both quantitative and qualitative data from industry professionals in regards to a range of issues relating to the use of industry/community projects in the curriculum. The findings will be used to inform the development of partnerships with industry and community partners in VU‟s project-driven engineering education programs