2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Research is showing that the gap between the skills students learn in academia and the skills they require when they begin in industry is widening. This can partially be attributed to the rapid changes in industry thanks to technology and the inability for higher education institutions to match this speed for large-scale curriculum changes. One strategy often employed to help alleviate this gap is industry-sponsored student projects. The goal of these projects is to give students experience in solving real-world, open-ended problems with industry level tools. These projects can be found both within and outside of the curriculum.

One avenue for these extracurricular projects is via student teams. These teams (e.g. Formula SAE and BAJA) allow students the chance to work in collaborative teams to achieve a specific goal set by the organization. These types of projects (ex: building and racing a solar-powered car) require significant funds and industry-level tools; a perfect place for industry to provide support and guidance. One such company, XXX, partner with these teams to provide free software access, training, and other support as part of a larger academic support strategy. But just how effective is this method? Are students seeing the benefit of learning these tools when they enter the workforce?

Together with the Formula SAE team at YYY, we are looking to explore the impact a XXX sponsorship has for a competitive student team. In this paper, we will explore the effect training in these software tools has on (1) competition success, (2) student experience during their degree program, and (3) student experience entering the workforce from both the student/alumni perspective and the team directors. We hope this paper will provide a unique perspective for both industry and academia alike to see the value in these types of partnerships and how we can strengthen them, with the goal of decreasing this industry/academia gap, going forward.