Secondments and Industry Role in Engineering Training

The key to the success of doctoral training in engineering and indeed the proper functioning of Doctoral Training Centres require the involvement of industry, a vital cog in all engineering activities. Lecture room training at tertiary institutions is no longer adequate to address the needs for a dynamic industry. Mismatch of skills between those imparted to students and those that industry requires is primarily a result of the missing links between industry and academia. Secondments of engineering academics to industry and indeed industrial attachments and industry-based learning by students have proven to be invaluable for the future engineer’s employability apart from access to modern equipment and technology to enhance their training in engineering. This chapter builds up to the justification for establishing and operationalising Doctoral Training Centres in close collaboration with industry, through innovation hubs, industrial parks and technology transfer offices, for the provision of indigenous and localised solutions to industrial operations, coupled with the commercialisation of research and other activities in industry.