When industry and academia work together to create a nurturing, entrepreneurial and inclusive ecosystem in which learners are able to apply the knowledge and theory taught in the classroom to the problems and opportunities within their own communities, engineering education becomes not just an individual pursuit, but a means by which we collectively “increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship."

Indeed, academic-industry collaboration creates an environment conducive to lifelong learning that benefits not only traditional “college aged” learners, but also workers seeking to re- or up-skill, the industries in which they work, the institution and the greater public good.

The future of work is quickly changing due to quickly-evolving technologies, socio-economic dynamics, and changing demographics. Employees of the future now need to "return to learning" multiple times throughout their careers in order to learn or improve the skills needed for a highly-developed workforce. Innovative academic-industry programming is key to creating high-quality learning experiences based in authentic, real-world challenges and opportunities.