The quest for relevance: roles of academia and industry in Japan and the U.S

While U.S. industry is making some headway in staying competitive in worldwide markets, much remains to be done. Some educators are hearing industry's cries for help to improve relevancy in engineering education. Academia has responded with some solutions but, in general, is only beginning. The authors found that recent industry-academia relationships like those in the U.S. are minimal in Japan. Surprisingly, Japanese industry and academia do not appear to be headed in a collaborative direction and are even more detached than in the United States. This paper presents some differences in the way Japan and the U.S. view their roles for academia and industry, their interrelationships, and how they affect engineering education. The authors' objective is to further motivate U.S. educators to integrate greater relevancy into engineering education through increased collaboration with industry.