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Front Page » Education » University leaders unite to focus on partnerships with business

University leaders unite to focus on partnerships with business

Written by on April 11, 2023
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University leaders unite to focus on partnerships with business

Higher education and partnerships with the private sector are the key instruments to develop the future workforce, say the leaders of some of the most important universities and colleges in South Florida.

As most industries are experiencing a rapid pace in the growth of technological change, including technology impacts in healthcare, finance, environmental conservation, and social services among other industries, Dr. Elizabeth Bejar, provost, executive vice president, and chief operating officer of Florida International University, said industry boards need thought leaders that would partner with a higher education institution to help frame the experiences for students and faculty.

“Historically there has always been a buffer between industry and the academy,” she said. “That buffer needs to be eradicated. We need to have industry professionals engaged, thinking through curricular issues, providing guidance on what’s happening in industry, being thought partners.”

Dr. Mike Allen, president of Barry University, said that “we have a perception problem in higher education,” where 56% of Americans do not believe in the value of higher education right now.

90% of academic leaders think they are doing a great job preparing their students for the industries, “and about 10% of CEOs feel the same way. That’s a huge disconnect.”

These insights came from six university leaders in a panel organized by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce on the future of education. Heads from the University of Miami, FIU, Miami Dade College, Barry, St. Thomas University and Florida Memorial University sat with Miami Today’s editor and publisher Michael Lewis, who moderated the panel.

“We’re having to learn to be much more mobile and adaptive, as well as innovative, to be able to keep up with industry and the rapid changes,” said Dr. Jaffus Hardrick, president of FMU.

“Internship opportunities and opportunities [for business leaders] to serve on our boards is going to be instrumental.”

A call for business across all industries to partner with universities, in programs, scholarships and feedback, was the common theme presidents of the educational institutions spoke about.

“Investment would be better, because what we’re going to do is bring you employees,” said David A. Armstrong, president of St. Thomas University.

“We learned a lot of innovative tools and resources to living during the pandemic times,” said Dr. Bejar. “We learned to be more productive in a hybridized society, and what that means for the employers, and for the employees. We deepened teachings in active learning, as opposed to passive, receptive learning, and so we want to strengthen those opportunities.”

Good examples of those opportunities to actively learn include some programs the universities have recently rolled out. FMU, for example, launched in 2021 a certificate program in construction trades, Dr. Hardrick said. The program is in partnership with The Miami Dolphins Social Impact Committee and the Lennar foundation.

“Today we have graduated just 250 students [in the program],” he said. “The program is open to members of this community, high school dropouts, or those who graduated from high school with no desire to go to college, for veterans, women, or individuals who just wanted to reinvent themselves.”

It is a 12-month certification program that is free for all participants and works with the National Center for Construction Education and Research and the Associated Builders and Contractors Institute to develop a curriculum that includes certifications in construction, electrical and plumbing trade. There are 500 people on the waiting list, said Dr. Hardrick, because the university currently sustains 100 spots.

Mr. Armstrong highlighted St. Thomas’s data analytics program, which partners with national companies for students to solve problems for those companies. “Experiential learning is a requirement for graduation at the university,” he said. “It’s something that we implemented. We want to give our students not only the acumen and the intelligence, but the experience before they walk out the door.”

At Miami Dade College, the MDC Tech program offers education in technology skills at any educational level. It also allows tech companies and employers to find tech talent through qualified students, according to the college. The program is “stackable” and allows students to advance from an associate’s degree to a bachelors. The college also partnered with Amazon Web Services and created the same pathway for cloud computers, said President Madeline Pumariega.

“We’re very proud to meet the needs, not only of the tech ecosystem but of all of our companies that have to meet their cyber security needs, their cloud computing needs; and [needs for] software engineers,” she said. “We’re doing our part to make sure that companies feel comfortable coming, staying, growing, and thriving their businesses in Miami.”

The Bachelor of Science and Innovation Technology and Design at the University of Miami also engages with components of the business community, said Julio Frenk, president of UM. The program is a pilot three-year bachelor’s degree. “From day one, [students] are experiencing immersive internships in the surrounding ecosystem of innovative companies,” he said. “The classroom is totally integrated with the experiential piece.”

If proven successful, he added, the program would not only cost students 25% less, by being shorter than the typical four-year degree, but it would put graduates in the workforce faster.

Barry University, in addition, has just announced a 15-month Mortgage Banking program in partnership with the Mortgage Bankers Association and Lennar Mortgage, to prepare students for careers in the real estate mortgage industry. Students would learn about loan products, compliance, marketing, servicing, technology, and how the industry impacts the economy, according to the university, with internship opportunities at TD Bank, Novus Home Mortgage, U.S. Bank, Fannie Mae, Marine Bank and Trust, and Lennar Mortgage.

The program started as a pilot with about 20 students, and the university hopes to expand it.

“The key takeaway is that universities are becoming much nimbler and more flexible in creating these programs,” said Dr. Allen. “Ten years ago, universities weren’t ready to move this quickly and this effectively. We’re all adjusting and adapting.”

The FPL-FIU Student Partnership Program, which started in 2010, is another great example. The university partnered with Florida Power & Light and created an on-campus center where students answer calls from FPL customers for assistance, establishing training and pathways for students to grow within the company.

A paradigm has been achieved through innovative education and academic research initiatives, by aligning under strategic alliances with industries in new ways, said Dr. Bejar. “We’re really excited about the future and how we’re reframing the conversation of how industry is partnering with the academic [institutions] in innovative ways.”

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