Yesterday, we published “4 Reasons Why Your Organization Should Collaborate with Colleges and Universities.” In today’s post, we’ll explore the four different ways your organization can collaborate with colleges and universities, listed below.
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1. Research and Knowledge Sharing
Your organization can work closely with institutions of higher learning to work on research and special projects related to your products, services, or industry (also known as “research and development”).
For instance, if your organization offers technology products, you can work with institutions to develop products according to what people in your market niche need, want, and demand. And you can work on projects that help you innovate within your field and secure your place as a true market leader.
In addition, you can implement online cloud-based platforms and wikis that allow you to share research, data, and knowledge with different colleges and universities that are conducting research in your field. This way, they’ll always know what’s going on in your marketplace, and you’ll always know what new research they’re uncovering and exploring.
2. Idea Labs and Workshops
You can host spaces and designated events where employees and university officials, faculty, and students can come together and think about and discuss certain challenges or opportunities within your select industry.
For instance, students at a university’s business school could benefit from meeting with individuals across your organization who have client-facing or operational roles (and vice versa), and everyone can discuss trends, projections, best practices, and so on.
3. Internship Programs
Your organization should work with institutions of higher education to develop internship programs. Students can gain real-world and hands-on experience as they study, which makes universities and colleges look more competitive.
And your organization can develop a steady pipeline of highly qualified job applicants, as many interns will want to seek out full-time job opportunities with your organization once they’ve completed their studies, which will make your organization become more competitive.
4. Certification Programs
Work with institutions of higher learning to develop certification programs. A lot of your employees will already have a degree, so they won’t want to go back to school full time when it’s not necessary or can end up costing them a lot of money.
However, they’ll be more interested in pursuing programs that will help them refresh their skills or make them look more competitive for a promotion or new role. And your organization will be able to upskill its employees more efficiently with certification programs, while institutions will be able to gain more applicants and offer more competitive programming to their prospective students too.
If your organization is ready to pursue more collaborative relationships with colleges and universities, keep the information above in mind.