Improving practical knowledge of educators with cooperation of municipalities

Abstract

Undisputedly, there are many educators in the engineering and engineering technology fields that have superior academic and theoretical knowledge. This knowledge makes them well prepared for teaching students who want to go in to academia or research oriented careers, but may not make them as well prepared for those students which are planning on going into field engineering positions. Students that prefer the more practical careers may not relate well with the more theoretical professor, but instead, may prefer someone with more practical type experience that can relate the in class theory to industrial examples.Unfortunately, many professors who excel at research and theoretical engineering have not had the experience of working in the types of jobs many of their students aspire to obtain, and may not be able to relate their knowledge in a manner that appeals to a majority of their students because of this lack of experience. One mechanism for obtaining this practical type experience is educators and municipalities working together for mutual benefit. Municipalities are often under tight budget constraints and cannot afford to hire more full-time engineering staff. However, municipalities could benefit greatly from theoretical knowledge that can be provided by an educator.Educators benefit greatly from an arrangement where they can gain experience in practical engineering work. Depending on their university's regulations, they may even be able to work as a consultant throughout the academic year on a part-time basis. Municipalities can benefit from having an increase in technical knowledge and ability at a lower cost. There would be no benefits paid and even the most strapped municipal budget could afford a part-time employee that could yield significant savings resulting from increased technical expertise. One slight improvement suggested by the faculty member could save the municipality significant amounts of funding. Cooperation between the academic world and municipalities is a win-win situation for everyone, including the public.