In recent years, we’ve seen an exponential rise of research partnerships between universities and business organizations.
As businesses reduce expenditure on early-stage research due to organizational constraints and budget limitations, higher education institutions are stepping in to fill this critical research gap.
These academic-business alliances represent a welcome development for universities, providing essential funding for academic research that can be difficult to secure without government support.
Both universities and business organizations ultimately benefit more from forging long-term collaborations rather than pursuing one-off projects. In this article, we’ll look at the benefits of academia-corporate tie-ups.
In the past, universities competed independently for the brightest students, teaching staff, and academic excellence. Their main goal was to boost research output and ensure learners graduated with extensive academic knowledge.
Today, these goals remain paramount to higher education institutions, but how universities achieve them has significantly evolved. Students in the digital era have more options than ever when choosing higher education.
They can easily join certificate, bachelor's, or graduate programs from international schools, online or on-campus, through partner institutions of their preferred school. This ensures students who can't physically relocate abroad to join their dream university can still enroll in the institution's programs.
International study is rapidly rising. Academic institutions are competing not only locally but globally. Networking enables academic institutions to prepare students for international careers, ensuring they remain competitive when working across different parts of the world.
University education in its fullest, truest and greatest form serves three primary purposes:
Through alliances and networking, universities stick to these three purposes. Higher education institutions and corporations have long worked together to enjoy mutual benefits. Students access experiential learning, mentorship, and real-time industry jobs.
Students can also leverage internship opportunities with the university's partners. Learners involved in incubator projects can get a role within the partner company after graduation.
If these students become full-time workers because of the alliance, it can be a powerful PR tool for higher education institutions. Universities can use the placement numbers to attract prospective students and potential corporate partners.
On the other hand, they allow corporations to tap into a talent pool that helps solve business problems.
Additionally, university-corporate tie-ups in the sponsored research arena are a source of funds that promote discoveries and innovations in academic institutions. An open exchange of ideas between partners also helps modernize higher education and set students up for success.
In addition to corporate collaborations, universities can work with government entities and other higher education institutions to strengthen their academic programs and expose students to opportunities.
Part of ensuring students succeed involves equipping them with the relevant skills in the workplace. Partnering with the right organization not only offers job opportunities for students but also helps them flourish in the long term after graduation and in their careers.
Let's say you land a job in one of the organizations your university has partnered with. The free flow of ideas between the academic institution and partner firm can mean sharing knowledge that helps the business organization upskill its employees.
This could be through exchanging publications, research material, and educational resources between the business's employees and the university students.
In short, a university-corporation affiliation allows academic support to the corporation's employees, who can update their skills using the university's programs. Such networking ensures your skills remain relevant as the industry evolves.
Globally, there's a focus on bridging the knowledge gap to support innovation. Collaboration between universities and businesses can help achieve this. By working together, higher education institutions and businesses can create new solutions to solve problems.
That could mean developing new commercially-viable technology based on the most recent discoveries. It could also mean using academic insights to build more efficient business models. These innovations allow university students to use their academic knowledge to invent new solutions.
For university affiliations to work seamlessly, higher education institutions should build high-quality connections with other organizations. Achieving this requires compatibility between the partners to ensure they are working towards common goals and missions.
Effective communication and trust are also critical. If you want an institution with effective networking, check the goals and compatibility between the school and its partners.
University-business tie-ups are a hotbed of valuable ideas and talent. Businesses looking to innovate can leverage a wealth of knowledge from world-class academic researchers and brilliant university students.
On the other hand, universities need to work with industry partners to source funds and support for research. So, collaborating is often a win-win for both parties, and the results of such collabs are mostly groundbreaking.
Our partnerships with the University of Houston and Hong Kong Polytechnic University
allows students to access our Master in Global Hospitality Business program from different continents. We've also partnered with a top-ranking business school in Asia (CEIBS) to allow students to get a joint degree in our Hospitality Executive MBA program.
We also collaborate with businesses in different industries on research, talent development, innovation projects, and thought leadership.
The Student Business Project (SBP) allows final semester Bachelor students to put their academic knowledge to practice, with many resulting in projects which come to fruition in the real world and job offers following graduation.
This 20-year-old scheme is highly sought after by hospitality businesses around the world who know they will benefit from the consultative advice of EHL students with their expertise and pioneering spirit.
Furthermore, the EHL Alliance is a membership program which leverages the power of the EHL Group to give member businesses privileged access to exclusive services and activities focus on business development, brand awareness, talent acquisition, networking, knowledge sharing and innovation.
Each EHL Alliance member can also benefit from the EHL Alliance ambassadors program, in which one or several students support them in various projects. And likewise, those student ambassadors benefit from the exposure and networking links the business offers them.
Members include the likes of Coca-Cola, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Laurent-Perrier, and Chopard. Discover the full list of founding members in this article.
We know that these alliances have a significant impact on students. Our institution welcomes collaborative opportunities that expose students to jobs and a vast external network.
As the global economy continues to evolve, the importance of academic-industry tie-ups will only grow. These collaborations represent essential bridges connecting theoretical knowledge with practical application, ensuring students are prepared for tomorrow's challenges while advancing innovation across all sectors.
For institutions considering such partnerships, the message is clear: the question isn't whether to collaborate, but how to build the most meaningful and impactful relationships that serve students, industry, and society as a whole.