Information Technology Partnerships Between Industry and Academia
Doris Duncan
This paper describes the problems facing Information Systems edncators in keeping CDITent and producing graduates with skills that are valuable to employers. These problems are often magnified by rapid changes in technology. This paper proposes use of partnerships and learning alliances between industry and education as one approach to solving these problems. Several typesof partnerships, including examples, are presented. These include: advisory committees, student internships, industry projects for college seniors, faculty internships/consulting, faculty/industry exchange prograrus, faculty training and updating, hardware/software resource sharing, mentoring, research grants and contracts. Many universities have established an industrial relations office that specializes in facilitating successful partnerships with industry.
Doris Duncan CCP, CSP, CDP, CDE, is a professor of computer information systems and former program coordinator at California State University-Hayward. She served as a visiting professor of information systems at the University of Washington-Seattle (1997-1998) and program director of information systems at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. Dr. Duncan's 20 plus years of experience in information technology include communications consultant and marketing manager for AT&T, program director for Input, Inc., and member of senior management consulting staff at Quantum Science Corporation. She has served as a consultant for several organizations such as Dialog Information Services, Pacific Bell Telephone Company, Golden Gate University, and McGraw-Hill Book Company. Dr. Duncan is author of a book, Computers and Remote Computing Services, and has published over 50 refereed journal articles and conference proceedings. She is a frequent speaker before professional groups. Dr. Duncan is past president of the San Francisco chapter of the Data Processing Management Association and has served on the boards of directors of several professional societies including DPMA, DPMA Special Interest Group in Education, and the Institute for Certification of Computer Processionals Education Foundation. Dr. Duncan has also served on the editorial review board of Journal of Information Systems Education and as a reviewer for many textbooks and conference proceedings. In 1997, Dr. Duncan was selected as Computer Educator of the Year by the International Association of Computer Information s Systems. She is listed in over 40 Who's Who publications including Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World.
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