Students going from the cloistered halls of graduate school to their first job in industry often require nine months to a year to adjust to the business environment, according to Lisbeth Borbye, Ph.D., an expert on the topic at North Carolina State University.
Borbye said a key to dealing with the problem is getting more interaction between university faculty and business, and designing graduate-school classes with the help of industry personnel so students enjoy a better fit when they get to the workplace.
"We're training professors to provide their students more professional skills," she said. "Things like teamwork, flexibility, discipline, project management and communications skills haven't traditionally been what the university has seen fit to take care of. But now we find those skills are very important, because they're important to the businesses where these students will be working."
To address the issue head-on, Borbye and 20 educators from 13 North Carolina colleges and universities will roll up their sleeves with some industry counterparts in a workshop Nov. 12 and 13.
The workshop, "Creating Alliances and Educational Projects with Industry Partners," will be held by at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center headquarters in Research Triangle Park.
Borbye is an author, assistant dean for professional education at North Carolina State University and directs the 16-campus University of North Carolina System's Professional Science Master's (PSM) Initiative.
"People across North Carolina are aware of the cross-pollination between businesses and community colleges in workforce training programs," she said, "but some of us at the universities are also taking the initiative to educate our educators, changing campus culture and embracing the business world."
Some 80 percent of graduate students go into careers outside academia, said Borbye, "and at NC State that number is even higher." She wrote two textbooks dealing with the need to break down fences separating the halls of learning from the halls of commerce:
- Industry Immersion Learning: Real-Life Case Studies in Biotechnology and Business
- Secrets to Success in Industry Careers: Essential Skills for Science and Business
Another is about to be published:
- Out of the Comfort-Zone: How to Add Professional Skills Acquisition to Academic Curricula
Attendees will be using materials from all three in the workshop.
"We must do more than make copies of professors," said Borbye. "We must also prepare professionals for non-academic careers."