Industry And Academic Partnerships to Bridge the Engineering Skills Gap

Practice Paper Recommended citation: Ogwezi, B. (2025). Industry And Academic Partnerships to Bridge the Engineering Skills Gap. In Kangaslampi, R., Langie, G., Järvinen, H.-M., & Nagy, B. (Eds.), SEFI 53rd Annual Conference. European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI), Tampere, Finland. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17631764. This Conference Paper is brought to you for open access by the 53rd Annual Conference of the European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI) at Tampere University in Tampere, Finland. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License. INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS TO BRIDGE THE ENGINEERING SKILLS GAP B. Ogwezi (EngD) Ansys, Cambridge, UK Conference Key Areas: Curriculum development and emerging curriculum models in engineering, Engineering skills, professional skills, and transversal skills Keywords: Engineering education, academia/industry partnerships, faculty support, student outcomes INTRODUCTION The report from the Royal Academy of Engineering, Calibrating Future Curricula clearly highlights the gap between the skills required for engineering graduates to kick-off their careers and the knowledge they gain while studying their degrees. This ‘skills gap’ arises due to the challenges faced by academia in attempting to keep up with the rapidly evolving industry landscape (Royal Academy of Engineering, 2024). A key issue identified during investigations is the lack of an effective feedback loop between industry and academia (Alboaouh, 2018). This is not a new concept; a growing body of research emphasises the urgent need for new approaches to engineering education, to better prepare students for the ‘real world’. Transferable skills, such as teamwork, collaboration, problem solving and critical thinking, as well as technical skills are listed as being lacking in engineering graduates (Brunhaver et al., 2018), (Mitchell, et al., 2019), (Kamaruzaman, et al., 2024). Several strategies for closing this gap have been proposed and researched. Rhinehart (2024) argues that all the stakeholders - employers, new employees, academia and accreditation agencies - have definitive roles to play. Mitchell, et al.(2019) consider academic intervention through developing an Integrated Engineering Programme that blends theoretical learning with practical skills through problem-based learning. Popli & Singh (2024) demonstrate the benefits of adapting the curriculum to integrate industry-based projects and mentorship. Notably, their results showed improvements in (amongst other metrics) professional skills ratings, project grades and work placement rates. On the industry side, internships are typically seen as a highly effective means of improving students learning and outcomes with many positives. However, Hora, et al.(2020) and Prescott, et al.(2021) highlight that there are more complex issues to be understood than the ‘one size fits all’ belief in the benefits of internships. Luk & Chan (2022) also suggest that the students’ learning experience during internships, in both transferable and soft skills, is not so easily predictable. Degree apprenticeships provide a very direct link between industry and academia. These programs require partnerships between employers and universities to create practical, vocational degree courses that blend academic study with hands-on workplace experience. The degree apprentices are required to divide their time between university and employment while remaining continuously employed (Bishop & Hordern, 2017). Not much research has yet gone into understanding their true efficacy, but the close partnership required to develop these programs appears to be very effective in closing that feedback loop and delivering the much-needed bridge for the skills gap. This paper highlights another form of industry-academia partnership, also aimed at bridging the skills gap. The Ansys Funded Curriculum Program was launched in 2022, to provide academic grants through a competitive process. The goal of the program was to lower the barriers to implementation of industry-based tools and projects, specifically engineering simulation tools, like those used for Finite Element Analysis (for structural performance) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (for airflow and fluid modelling). Including simulation in the engineering curriculum has been shown to have numerous benefits. A 2023 report by McKinsey showed that up to 99% of engineering organisations surveyed were utilising engineering simulation to drive improved product performance and reduced time to market (McKinsey & Company, 2025). If a significant proportion of future employers are ramping up their use of simulation and seeing tangible results, shouldn’t new graduates also be equipped with this skill? On the academic side, several studies (Reffeor, 2018), (Milanovic & Kumar, 2022), (Mandal, et al., 2023), (Li & Cheung, 2024) show that including engineering simulation in the curriculum improved students’ understanding of core principles, improved performance, student engagement and confidence. The understanding of the equations that govern physical phenomena and the use of experiments to provide tangible insights into the behaviour of systems remain the backbone of learning in engineering. Simulation tools can provide a powerful third pillar which allows students to visualise complex physical that go beyond what can be experienced in a physical lab. Within the first two years of implementation, Ansys has partnered with 40 universities in 18 countries, and the impact of the program has been evident. Over 80% of students believed that the tools would be useful to them in their future careers. They also agreed that the tools had helped them to better understand the course material. The following sections will explore the program’s design and implementation in more detail, supported by quantitative outcomes and a success story and that illustrate its impact. BACKGROUND: THE ANSYS ACADEMIC PROGRAM Ansys is an engineering simulation software company that has been in business for over 50 years. Currently, it is ranked #1 in simulation in terms of having the broadest, deepest, and most accurate engineering simulation product portfolio. With this broad portfolio, we have firsthand awareness of how simulation and other software tools are influencing the engineering workplace globally. We have also seen the increased impact that simulation software skills have on new graduates’ career prospects. The Academic Program team recognises that effective engineering education is a multifaceted endeavour. 80% of the team have graduate degrees in engineering fields, which brings a deep understanding of the connections between academia and industry in driving student success. We also have an appreciation of how fundamentals taught in engineering curriculum allow for students to understand and properly utilize the results from simulation and materials selection software. The Ansys Academic Program has several initiatives (not an exhaustive list): - Free student software - Student team engagement - Teaching and learning resources development - Research partnerships - Funded Curriculum Program THE ANSYS FUNDED CURRICULUM PROGRAM The Ansys Funded Curriculum Program was launched in 2022. The funding aims to address some of the challenges associated with creating new or updating existing courses that seek to bridge the skills gap in engineering education. Specifically, the funding supports the inclusion of industry-standard simulation tools in the curriculum. Ansys has a long-standing history of working closely with academic institutions. We have engaged with lecturers at several universities to understand their visions for teaching and the challenges they face in keeping the curriculum up to date with industry demands. Some of these engagements have led to the development of teaching resources mentioned above: working with academic experts to create the teaching materials they believe will be most beneficial in their courses. In addition, we have collaborated on an ad hoc basis to create entire master’s-level courses to ensure students are fully versed in simulation. These courses are run and maintained by the universities, with support from Ansys engineers. The success of these endeavours has driven a desire to broaden the reach, scope, and impact of these collaborations. To facilitate this expanded horizon, the Funded Curriculum Program was designed to be an openly accessible yet comprehensive selection process, with proposal submissions solicited from universities worldwide. It is important to note, that to avoid conflicts of interest, the grants are only available to universities that already have the software available. • Calls and submissions: The call for proposals occurs twice a year; the call is publicised at conferences, on LinkedIn, and on the company website. The guidelines state that the courses being proposed must either be completely new or significantly revised to now include simulation. Typically, each call has a focus or theme, for instance: courses in Sustainability or Biomedical Engineering or Electrical Engineering. Each submission should include: - The CV of the lead academic. - The proposed course(s) description (rationale, year of study, number of students, etc) - How the incorporation of these tools will enhance the course. - A brief description of how the funds will used, if granted. • Review: The Academic team is responsible for reviewing all proposals that meet the eligibility requirements. To minimize and mitigate bias in the review process, each proposal is evaluated by at least three team members who have no direct connection to the university or the academic submitting the application. Proposals are scored based on several criteria, including: - The quality of the writing: Is the proposal written to a high standard? - The expertise of the lead academic: Is there evidence that they have sufficient experience with the proposed simulation tools? - Interdepartmental collaboration: Does the proposal foster collaboration between engineering departments, breaking down silos? - Relevance to industry needs: Does the proposal address a gap in the curriculum identified as important by industry stakeholders? In addition to these criteria, priority is given to courses aimed at the first and second years of undergraduate study. Introducing simulation early in the curriculum provides the benefit of enhancing students' understanding of fundamental physical concepts. Visualizing phenomena such as fluid flow, stress distribution in a beam, or the electric field distribution in a circuit reinforces theoretical instruction and broadens the scope of experiments that can be explored in the laboratory. Furthermore, incorporating simulation into the curriculum early on allows students to develop these skills over the entire duration of their academic careers, rather than only in their final year, as is often the case. • Project management: Each successful proposal is considered a ‘project.’ A member of the Ansys academic team acts a project manager and works closely with the university throughout the development of the curriculum and the delivery of new course(s). This typically begins with a kick-off meeting, during which the deliverables and timelines are agreed upon and documented. Deliverables typically include: - Delivery of the new course(s) and collection of student feedback - Creation and dissemination of educational resources to support the course(s) - Sharing of course outcomes and feedback through papers, conferences, webinars, etc. The academic team member (project manager) serves as both a point of contact and, if necessary, a technical resource. Regular meetings are scheduled to ensure the project stays on track and to address any issues that arise. These meetings also provide an opportunity to provide support, exchange ideas and feedback as the courses and resources are developed and delivered. To support the pedagogical development of engineering courses, the Academic team has created and curated hundreds of teaching resources that are specifically aimed to educators and are free to access. These resources include lecture slides, exercises, tutorials and case studies and can be used as they are or adapted to build the new curriculum: Ansys Education Resources Some time constraints are placed on the projects: for instance, the first course (if there is more than one) must be delivered within one year from the project kick off. After that, the project is tracked until all the proposed courses are delivered, any related teaching resources have been reviewed and (as much as possible) feedback from students has been received. Since the program started, the company has successfully collaborated with over 40 universities in 19 countries. The proposed courses span 12 engineering and science disciplines (Figure 1). Figure 1: Breakdown of grants awarded by engineering/science discipline. FEEDBACK FROM STUDENTS As part of the program, reviews and feedback are collected from the students who have participated in these courses. The aim is to evaluate their access to and proficiency with these tools, as well as the perceived relevance of these tools for other courses and future careers. The student feedback survey results were anonymous. The only identifiers were the name of the university and the name of the course. The students on these courses represent a diverse range; from Years 1 to 4 of study, and a few at the master’s level. Examples of course titles include Fundamentals of Aerodynamics, Machine Component Design, Material Selection for Sustainability, and Electronics Thermal Management. The survey questions are listed here: - Ansys software improved my understanding of the course material. - There were adequate resources available for me to learn effectively. - I now know how to use Ansys software for future projects. - I believe that the Ansys software will be useful in my future career. - What did you like most about this course? - What improvements would you like to see in this course? Students were asked to rank their responses to the above questions from 1= Strongly disagree to 5: Strongly agree. As of March 2025, we have received responses from 289 students from 9 universities studying 10 different courses. (For brevity, not all results are shown.) Figure 2: Student survey results for ‘Ansys software improved my understanding of the course materials’ (Average 4.2) A vital rationale for including simulation in the engineering curriculum is to support the learning of both basic and advanced engineering concepts. 83.9% of students agreed that simulation software aided their learning. 1=Strongly disagree 5=Strongly agree Figure 3: Student survey results for ‘I believe that the Ansys software will be useful in my future career.’ (Average:4.3) 82.9% of students agreed or strongly agreed that simulation would be useful after they graduated. The survey results strongly suggest that students believe exposure to and experience with simulation tools are critical to closing the skills gap between academia and industry, research or entrepreneurship. This is evidenced by the responses to the question ‘What did you like most about this course?’ “The course is interesting to me personally and deepens my understanding of aerodynamics and how it effects our everyday lives.” “…gave me the real-world experience, comprehensive learning resources. It was a robust platform to learn and develop practical engineering simulation skills which will be valuable for our academic and professional careers. Through this i got opportunity to implement it in our project regarding space propulsion where we do numerical analysis.” “I liked being able to simulate flow that I might have to do in my career.” “The course provided an interactive session to deal with real life problems in a very friendly and easy to learn manner. Providing us with technological knowledge which will prove very beneficial for our academic and professional journey.” When asked what could be improved about the course, a common theme was that of needing more time with the software: “We thought of having one more semester for learning many things… but we know in 2 semesters we can't learnt everything which is vast but hope we get opportunity to work with Ansys” “I would like this course to be more practical. Maybe we could spend more time from the planned weeks on learning the software… from the most simple things to more advanced and complicated tasks, because I think this software would be a lot useful especially for the future of one mechanical engineer (specifically those who are on EE and HEI fields at our Faculty).” “The course duration per week was a bit too short to carry out more projects in the class. This will help further improve the skills of the student at using the software.” 1=Strongly disagree 5=Strongly agree We are sharing this feedback with the academics to improve the next iteration of these courses. SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP EXAMPLE Kings College London (awarded October 2024) King's College London is one of the top universities in the UK for biomedical engineering; it has a close collaboration with some of the leading hospitals in the country. Simulation had already been in use by healthcare technology researchers at the university and hospitals. However, they recognized the need to have students trained in these tools to develop the next generation of biomedical engineers. Three new courses in Biomedical Engineering were proposed for students in their second and third years. The project team is composed of one academic, supported by one teaching assistant. This project is ongoing currently. The team has created one new resource so far, with the new courses due to be delivered in October this year. The inclusion of simulation in these courses inspired two other academics at the university to do the same in their courses, allowing more students to have access to industry-standard tools. “The proposed design will therefore enhance these courses significantly, equipping our students with the necessary know-how to create innovation in medical technologies that addresses unmet clinical needs.” Dr. Adelaide De Vecchi, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, St Thomas’ Hospital, King’s College London. LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE WORK The student surveys give us insights into how these courses have been received, their perceived work-readiness and potential success post-graduation. With over 80% of students agreeing that these skills will be useful for their career, does this match the industry view? The Institute of Engineering and Technology lists digital skills, such as 3D modelling and simulation of one of the top 5 skills in-demand skills for engineering graduates. Therefore, aligning the engineering curriculum to industry needs must indeed boost the success of students. Future work for this program can be to track students after they graduate and discover how learning simulation has helped them. As the program is still in the first few years of implementation, that data is not yet available. We know this task will be challenging but believe the insight that could be gathered is well worth the effort. CONCLUSION Bridging the gap between the engineering curriculum and industry demands is a complex challenge. One key area identified by both new graduates and industry is the need for increased knowledge of software tools, such as simulation. The Ansys Funded Curriculum Program aims to ease the transition to the workforce by collaborating with experienced academics to keep their curricula up to date. Feedback indicates that the program is successful, with students reporting positive benefits from integrating these tools into their coursework. These benefits include a