University — Industry networking for training, research, and employment- HTI experience

In 1988, The Higher Technological Institute (HTI) was established in the new industrial city called "The Tenth of Ramadan City". HTI is the first private university level Institute for Engineering Education in Egypt. One of its main missions is to build a strong and sustainable link with industry especially in the local community. From day one, the main elements of this link were clear and accordingly efforts have been spent to build and strengthen such elements in the following main directions: - Development of industry linked educational programs. - Students internships and Employment. - Specialized courses for engineers and technicians in industry. - Problem solving for industry - Research & Development. The results of applications of this link proved that there are mutual benefits for both the institute and industry. In industry, the gain is clear in the suitability and reduced cost of the technical services introduced while for HTI, the gain can be seen in practical experience of the students which they gain through four yearly 12- week industrial training semesters. This, in addition to other factors, helps very much for employment of the graduates which in turn increases the number of new students joining the institute. In spite of the fact that these efforts have fruitful results in the first three directions (Industry linked educational programs, Internships & tailored courses for industry), still much work is needed to enrich and improve the cooperation in solving the industry problems and initiate serious research and development based on university -industry cooperation. This relative weakness may be due to the fact that HTI efforts were carried out on an individual bases. Accordingly, establishing National University -Industry Network in Egypt is necessary not only to improve and strengthen the weak points but also to guarantee the sustainability of such successful link through synergistic integration of the capabilities of both parties: indu- try & university. In this paper, HTI experience in cooperation with industry through about 25 years will be highlighted. The experience with two international projects related to university/industry link (The first is European/Egyptian and the second is European/Egyptian/Jordanian TEMPUS projects) will be also briefly shown. A proposal for University/Industry Network for Mechatronics in Egypt will be proposed: "The Egyptian Academic -Industry Forum for Mechatronics (EAIFM)". The importance of cooperation with community and government in this regard will be also discussed.