KARACHI:
In recent years, there has been an increase in discussion over industry-academia linkages. (IALs). The IAL has been reciprocally advantageous for industry and academia in developed countries. It has helped countries enhance knowledge, and innovation, and improve their financial progress. In both production and service sectors, promoting entrepreneurship has been a driving force so far as the expansion of market-oriented research and innovation is concerned. Universities are facilitated and utilised at the industrial level to foster commercialisation.
Industrial PhD programmes have enabled academia to resolve technical problems faced by the industry. In 1970, the concept of an industrial PhD was introduced in Denmark as a 3-year industry-focused doctoral project in cooperation with a university. An industrial PhD student is considered an employee, and the research experience during the PhD studentship tenure is regarded as a professional experience. Despite that, there is a different set of regulations with which the industrial PhD is governed primarily depending upon the intensity of IAL from low to high. Students are duly supported to draw upon pre-determined human and financial resources.
PhD studentship can be extremely useful in Pakistan as PhD candidates are either unemployed or on leave from their regular jobs during their studies. They also have to arrange additional funding for a thesis. The studentship can help candidates gain hands-on experience to improve their future employability and earn while they study. It is worth mentioning that the industrial PhD studentship is a broad idea and applies to other fields including engineering, or pure or applied sciences. There is an urgent need to identify prospects by developing industry-academia collaborations and adopting different practices. This will raise the industry’s performance and improve the quality and effectiveness of higher education programs. Government departments can play a crucial role in promoting the culture of IAL for an optimised version of the industry and academia.
Dr Intikhab Ulfat
Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, January 15th, 2023.
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