Industry academia collaboration in higher education plays a vital role in helping prepare students for their future careers. Every year, the ABET Symposium brings together academic leaders and industry professionals to spark these essential collaborations and strengthen relationships. Hy Tran, a retired engineer and senior scientist with Sandia National Laboratories and member of the ABET Industry Advisory Council, shares how industry shows up at the ABET Symposium and why it matters to the future of higher education.
Why Industry Academia Collaboration in Higher Education Matters
For a long time, industry presence at the ABET Symposium was limited, with industry only representing 3.2% of attendance at the 2021 ABET Symposium. “Until recently, industry hardly showed up at the Symposium at all,” Tran says. “If you had people from industry there it was because they were ABET volunteers and had the time or company sponsorship to participate.” With increased involvement from the Industry Advisory Council, industry voices are playing a more active role at the Symposium by bringing professional perspectives into conversations to help shape the future of higher education.
This year’s keynote speaker, astronaut, engineer, scientist, artist and author Nicole Stott, reflects that shift. Drawing on her experience aboard the International Space Station, she emphasizes the importance of collaboration and shared purpose. Her perspective reinforces a central theme of the Symposium: meaningful progress depends on bringing diverse expertise together to achieve what no single individual or sector can accomplish alone.
Bridging the Gap Between Academia and Industry
One of the unique roles the ABET Symposium plays is allowing industry and academia to learn together in-person. “The vast majority of graduates from ABET-accredited programs go into non-academic employment,” Tran says. The ABET Symposium helps reinforce this by connecting educators more directly with employers and their expectations. These interactions strengthen industry feedback in higher education and help programs stay aligned with workforce needs. The 2026 Symposium will include a session with the Industry Advisory Council called “Practical Paths to Academia–Industry Partnerships.” This panel addresses the critical need for academic programs, industry partners and accreditation evaluators: practical, resource-conscious pathways to building sustainable academia-industry partnerships that support innovation, workforce preparation and continuous improvement.
How Industry Helps Prepare Students for Careers
The ABET Symposium enables industry leaders to directly influence what they need in future employees, from professional skills to understanding evolving technical requirements, with faculty in attendance. As Tran highlights, technical expertise on its own isn’t enough. “The best employee is not the best technical person; it is the best well-rounded professional who has the ability to function effectively as a member of a team and as a leader.” The ABET Symposium helps institutions better prepare students for the realities of the ever-evolving workforce by strengthening industry partnerships in higher education with workshops and sessions that connect academia and industry directly through presentations, discussions and collaboration opportunities.
Building Strong, Sustainable Partnerships
A key takeaway from industry voices at the ABET Symposium is that academia and industry collaboration requires effort and commitment. “It takes effort to build an effective partnership, but the results are well worth the effort,” Tran says. Sustaining those partnerships is just as important as building them. Tran points to a common challenge: when programs rely primarily on a single person, progress can be lost if that person moves on. “I have seen so many cases where a program built up something, but it couldn’t be sustained because it was dependent on the knowledge of that person,” he explains.
To address this, Tran encourages institutions to build teams and develop future leaders alongside their partnerships to ensure continuity and long-term success. Industry leaders attending the 2026 Symposium have the opportunity to build these connections with academic partners and engage in essential conversations that shape impactful programs. One such discussion, “Bridging Academia and Employment: Co-Designing Credentials with Industry,” brings together academic and industry leaders to explore the key components of successful university–industry partnerships, including collaboration on content, technology and implementation strategies that strengthen workforce outcomes.
Join other industry leaders at the upcoming ABET Symposium to see how industry partnerships in higher education are preparing students for impactful careers, ensuring continuous improvement and strengthening relationships between industry and academia.