The Gap Between Engineering Schools and Industry: A Strategic Initiative

Abstract

The long-standing gap between engineering education and the industry (the Gap) has been acknowledged in literature extensively. In this paper, the Gap has been addressed philosophically from three different aspects: the demarcation between science and engineering, the causes of the Gap, and the strategy for bridging the Gap. The targeted education level in this paper is the bachelor level. The Gap is caused by the absence of feedback from the industry to engineering schools. This paper contributes to the philosophy of engineering education by proposing a strategic initiative to bridge the Gap. The expected outcomes of the proposed initiative are the following: Reclassification of the majors available in engineering schools and redesigning the knowledge taught in these schools to match industry needs. These outcomes could be achieved by firstly giving engineers the opportunity to write about their own experience at an industry level in engineering journals and, through their writing, schools get an idea of what is going on in the industry. Secondly, accrediting agencies such as ABET should grant a higher rank to engineering schools based on what they have done over time to bridge the Gap. Lastly, PhD research could be utilized to improve the undergraduate curriculum. A PhD student could work for a company, then return to school two years later to present their findings and observations.