Making Academic IS Research More Relevant to Industry Via Open-Architecture Models for Career Paths in Academia

Until the debate regarding relevance of IS research to practice is resolved, it is instructive to learn from more established disciplines where previous practical experience is accounted for and valued. In teaching hospitals, academia and practice are interrelated and co-exist. Retired high-ranked military officers, are sought for top positions, in business, politics, and academia. Promotion and tenure committees for academic IS departments, wishing to encourage interaction with IS practice, ought not only to recognize practical experience and publications in trade magazines, but also to design open-architecture career paths for smooth transition of IS personnel between industry and academia

Summary of the First Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE1)

Challenges related to development, deployment, and maintenance of reusable software for science are becoming a growing concern. Many scientists’ research increasingly depends on the quality and availability of software upon which their works are built. To highlight some of these issues and share experiences, the First Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE1) was held in November 2013 in conjunction with the SC13 Conference. The workshop featured keynote presentations and a large number (54) of solicited extended abstracts that were grouped into three themes and presented via panels. A set of collaborative notes of the presentations and discussion was taken during the workshop. Unique perspectives were captured about issues such as comprehensive documentation, development and deployment practices, software licenses and career paths for developers. Attribution systems that account for evidence of software contribution and impact were also discussed. These include mechanisms such as Digital Object Identifiers, publication of “software papers”, and the use of online systems, for example source code repositories like GitHub. This paper summarizes the issues and shared experiences that were discussed, including cross-cutting issues and use cases. It joins a nascent literature seeking to understand what drives software work in science, and how it is impacted by the reward systems of science. These incentives can determine the extent to which developers are motivated to build software for the long-term, for the use of others, and whether to work collaboratively or separately. It also explores community building, leadership, and dynamics in relation to successful scientific software

Report on the Second Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE2)

This technical report records and discusses the Second Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE2). The report includes a description of the alternative, experimental submission and review process, two workshop keynote presentations, a series of lightning talks, a discussion on sustainability, and five discussions from the topic areas of exploring sustainability; software development experiences; credit & incentives; reproducibility & reuse & sharing; and code testing & code review. For each topic, the report includes a list of tangible actions that were proposed and that would lead to potential change. The workshop recognized that reliance on scientific software is pervasive in all areas of world-leading research today. The workshop participants then proceeded to explore different perspectives on the concept of sustainability. Key enablers and barriers of sustainable scientific software were identified from their experiences. In addition, recommendations with new requirements such as software credit files and software prize frameworks were outlined for improving practices in sustainable software engineering. There was also broad consensus that formal training in software development or engineering was rare among the practitioners. Significant strides need to be made in building a sense of community via training in software and technical practices, on increasing their size and scope, and on better integrating them directly into graduate education programs. Finally, journals can define and publish policies to improve reproducibility, whereas reviewers can insist that authors provide sufficient information and access to data and software to allow them reproduce the results in the paper. Hence a list of criteria is compiled for journals to provide to reviewers so as to make it easier to review software submitted for publication as a “Software Paper.

Regenerating the academic workforce: the careers, intentions and motivations of higher degree research students in Australia

Abstract The main findings of this report are based on the outcomes from the National Research Student Survey (NRSS) conducted in June 2010 across 38 of the 39 universities in Australia. In total 11,710 Higher Degree by Research students (those enrolled in PhD and masters by research degrees, also referred to simply as ‘research students’ in this report) responded to the NRSS, providing a 25.5 per cent response rate across the country. These response numbers represent the largest collection of survey responses from research students ever undertaken in Australia. The report primarily explores the career intentions and motivations of these students. It provides particular emphasis on the interests of Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students (referred to in this report as ‘research students’) in following an academic career on completion of their degree and the support they have received in terms of preparation for university teaching during their candidature. In the context of growing student enrolments and the large numbers of predicted retirements associated with an ageing academic workforce there is a need to examine the career intentions of research students. This report explores the extent to which the current cohort of research students may be a source of replenishment for the academic profession in the context of an ageing academic workforce. It is important to remember that the traditional notion of an academic being someone who has made a linear transition from school to university, to a HDR and on to academia is outdated. Research students come to the HDR from a diverse variety of professional backgrounds and have equally diverse aspirations for their careers after gaining their qualification. Some research students m y already be working in universities in an academic capacity. Many intend to use their research degree as a springboard to a career outside of the university sector. Others undertake a research degree out of interest in the subject matter and simply for the pleasure of studying at an advanced level. Nevertheless, those research students who aspire to an academic career do represent an important source of future academics. The findings of this report raise a number of crucial issues relating to the research degree in Australian universities, the career aspirations of research students and potential issues for the future of the academic workforce over the coming decade. Recommended Citation Edwards, Daniel; Bexley, Emmaline; and Richardson, Sarah, "Regenerating the academic workforce: the careers, intentions and motivations of higher degree research students in Australia: findings of the National Research Student Survey (NRSS)" (2011). http://research.acer.edu.au/higher_education/2

Strategic factors for implementing a multiple career path construction doctoral program: a mixed methods study

2022 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.According to the recent literature, a notable percentage of STEM doctoral graduates prefer employment in non-academic career paths such as industry due to diminishing opportunities in academia. However, the doctoral education in the U.S. is designed to prepare graduates to become researchers and teachers for careers in academia. There is limited training available to Ph.D. students related to their training for non-academic career paths. Construction Ph.D. programs are designated as STEM programs and are no exception to this changing career preferences of Ph.D. graduates. Given the changing career landscape of doctoral graduates, it is important for construction Ph.D. programs to prepare doctoral students for success in diverse career paths (academia and industry). A large share of the current research in doctoral education primarily focusses on engineering disciplines, and very limited knowledge is available related to preparation of construction focused Ph.D. graduates effectively for multiple career paths. The broad research objective of this study is to develop strategic factors for construction Ph.D. programs to prepare students for diverse career paths. To achieve the research objective, the study explored the factors that influence construction Ph.D. students career choices through social cognitive career theory theoretical lens, competencies required by construction Ph.D. students for careers in academia and industry, various ways construction Ph.D. programs can prepare students for diverse career paths, and benefits of preparing construction Ph.D. students for various career paths. The study adopted a mixed methods approach, where 38 qualitative interviews were conducted and a quantitative survey was developed and administered (329 responses) with construction Ph.D. students, construction Ph.D. graduates working in the industry, construction faculty, and construction industry professionals. Results indicate that construction-focused Ph.D. students are equally interested in industry-related career choices alongside academia. Factors such as interest in teaching and research, passion for student mentoring and engagement, flexibility in working hours, support from an advisor, unawareness about non-academic opportunities, and satisfaction obtained from teaching influence construction Ph.D. students towards academic careers. Factors such as better salaries, ability to make a difference and advance construction industry, disinterest in academic culture, lack of enough academic jobs, no support from an advisor, and competitive academic funding climate influence construction Ph.D. students towards non-academic (industry) careers. Written and oral communication, problem solving skills, and critical independent thinking competencies are critical to employability success of construction Ph.D. students in both academic and industry career paths. Opportunities to complete industry internships, performing research relevant to construction industry's challenges by balancing both theory and practice, support from advisor related to either of the career choices, networking with both academic and industry professionals are important strategies to prepare construction Ph.D. student for diverse career paths. Preparing construction Ph.D. students for diverse career paths not only improves employability of Ph.D. students but also enhances university-industry research collaborations and improves the ability of construction industry to constantly innovate, adopt technology, and gain access to university research relevant to their needs

Women as Sustainability Leaders in Engineering: Evidence from Industry and Academia

Women are underrepresented in engineering education and practice, which limits the quality of the engineering workforce. One way to increase the participation of women in engineering is to emphasize subjects that appeal to them and emphasize skills at which they are especially adept. A subject that may fit this description is sustainability. The purpose of this research is to compare the percentage of women in selected sustainable engineering leadership positions to the percentage of women in general engineering leadership positions, to examine whether the subject of sustainability may help increase participation of women in engineering. Gender data was collected for the \u27sustainability leader\u27 at 79 of the largest design and construction companies in the U.S. Similar data was also compiled for engineering faculty attending workshops to share best practices for teaching sustainability. The percentage of women in the sustainability leader industry positions is much higher (39%), than the percentage of women in general management positions (8%). The percentage of woman attending the workshops is much higher (32%) than the percentage of woman engineering faculty (12%). Analysis of these results shows a statistically significant positive correlation between the subject of sustainability and increased percentages of women in engineering leadership positions. Increased consideration of sustainability in engineering education and practice could also help address the critical need to attract more women to the field. Recommendations to expand this research are outlined at a career, college, and pre-college level

Work of Art: Understanding Enterprise and Employability in Art and Design HE

A publication created to support learning and teaching in enterprise and employability in art and design higher education. We hope by sharing what enterprise and employability looks like in practice we can engage in discourse, develop an understanding across disciplines and use these aspirations to develop future strategies across UAL and within art and design practice

Business Process Management Education in Academia: Status, challenges, and Recommendations

In response to the growing proliferation of Business Process Management (BPM) in industry and the demand this creates for BPM expertise, universities across the globe are at various stages of incorporating knowledge and skills in their teaching offerings. However, there are still only a handful of institutions that offer specialized education in BPM in a systematic and in-depth manner. This article is based on a global educators’ panel discussion held at the 2009 European Conference on Information Systems in Verona, Italy. The article presents the BPM programs of five universities from Australia, Europe, Africa, and North America, describing the BPM content covered, program and course structures, and challenges and lessons learned. The article also provides a comparative content analysis of BPM education programs illustrating a heterogeneous view of BPM. The examples presented demonstrate how different courses and programs can be developed to meet the educational goals of a university department, program, or school. This article contributes insights on how best to continuously sustain and reshape BPM education to ensure it remains dynamic, responsive, and sustainable in light of the evolving and ever-changing marketplace demands for BPM expertise

Research and Education in Computational Science and Engineering

Over the past two decades the field of computational science and engineering (CSE) has penetrated both basic and applied research in academia, industry, and laboratories to advance discovery, optimize systems, support decision-makers, and educate the scientific and engineering workforce. Informed by centuries of theory and experiment, CSE performs computational experiments to answer questions that neither theory nor experiment alone is equipped to answer. CSE provides scientists and engineers of all persuasions with algorithmic inventions and software systems that transcend disciplines and scales. Carried on a wave of digital technology, CSE brings the power of parallelism to bear on troves of data. Mathematics-based advanced computing has become a prevalent means of discovery and innovation in essentially all areas of science, engineering, technology, and society; and the CSE community is at the core of this transformation. However, a combination of disruptive developments---including the architectural complexity of extreme-scale computing, the data revolution that engulfs the planet, and the specialization required to follow the applications to new frontiers---is redefining the scope and reach of the CSE endeavor. This report describes the rapid expansion of CSE and the challenges to sustaining its bold advances. The report also presents strategies and directions for CSE research and education for the next decade.Comment: Major revision, to appear in SIAM Revie

Supporting the development and delivery of the Level 3 DEC! learning programme : enhancing the pathway to higher education and employment through local HEI and School partnership

This report outlines the key findings and benefits from this BIM4Education project, and the partnership between St. Ambrose Barlow RC High School, The University of Salford, and Class Of Your Own. The purpose of the report is to document evidence of the value for all contributors to the DEC curriculum, i.e. pupils, teaching staff, schools, and HE partners