Industry-academia outreach: a study of student perception

The importance of industry outreach and collaboration has been increasingly recognised by the Department of Computer Engineering and Informatics at an international branch campus of a British university based in Dubai. Through the past few years, the department has focused on exposing its students to the industry through various activities such as guest lectures, field trips, events and several Academic Alliance Programmes (AAP) and certifications. This initiative has been placed to enhance the student's experiences at this department and immerse them in the most recent innovations and cutting-edge technologies. A study has been designed to examine the students' views and values of these industry activities from three perspectives, namely: academic relevance, career and network building and overall satisfaction and experience. 129 students participated in the study. According to students, the implemented outreach initiative has been successful in terms of academic learning and experience and satisfactory in terms of career and network building. The findings have provided the department with insights towards future industry outreach that would enhance its students' experiences.

Special Issue on: Technology in the Classroom: Innovations in Teaching and Learning
Guest Editors: Dr. Fehmida Hussain and Dr. Cody Morris Paris