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The Synergy Between Higher Ed and Industry
Narek Daniyelyan | Assistant Vice Chancellor for Strategic Partnerships, Washington State University
Effective collaboration between higher education and industry is vital to addressing workforce challenges and preparing learners for evolving economic demands. By building integrated ecosystems with shared goals and leveraging diverse stakeholder engagement, institutions can create sustainable pathways for student success and regional growth. In this interview, Narek Daniyelan discusses the importance of strategic partnerships, challenges with collaboration and metrics for success.
The EvoLLLution (Evo): How would you describe the current state of collaboration between higher ed institutions and industry partners when it comes to building ecosystems that try to address skills gaps and meet employers’ evolving demands?
Narek Daniyelyan (ND): I have been working with industry partners in the higher education and workforce development spaces for the past decade. Over that time, I’ve noticed that higher ed is starting to realize the need to be strategic about how and who we partner with.
Colleges and universities, we are experiencing a shift in demographics, with more students belonging to historically minoritized populations. Many of these students have little career exposure experience and no professional network to help them find a career after graduation. This reality presents higher education institutions with an opportunity to innovate and partner with companies and organizations that are invested in cultivating a high-quality future workforce.
On the flip side, industry is also seeing the need to partner with higher ed due to changing demands in the workforce. During the pandemic, there was a trend where workforce needs were constantly changing. There was a lot of turnover in all industries, which highlighted the need for stronger partnerships with higher ed to ensure a robust talent pipeline.
Evo: What are the key challenges to establishing and maintaining strong partnerships that will last?
ND: Higher education needs to move away from transactional relationships and invest in building long-term partnerships. It’s easy to focus on short-term gains, but building long-term, sustainable, mutually beneficial partnerships requires us to play the long game.
Turnover is another challenge. Higher education used to be a highly sought-after industry with competitive salaries, great benefits and a good work-life balance. However, a decline in college enrollment nationally, a reduction of state-level funding and the larger demand for remote work opportunities have made it difficult to attract and retain top talent. These difficulties have a major impact on our partnerships, as companies are constantly working with different people at different levels of the institution. Lastly, there is a difference in pace between higher education and industry that often gets in the way of progress.
Evo: What are the key qualities of a strong partnership that are necessary to building integrated ecosystems that effectively address learner and the employer needs?
ND: Persistence and leadership buy-in are critical. Champions within each organization must have the support of their leadership to drive shared vision and values. Building and sustaining an ecosystem requires aligning efforts to address regional needs collaboratively.
In addition, it’s important to be aligned with what’s going on, not only in higher ed and industry but also in the K-12 system. We’re lucky in Southwest Washington to work closely with key stakeholders across K-12 and regional workforce and economic development partners to address skills gaps and economic needs in the community. We’re then able to, from a higher ed perspective, prepare people for the workforce demand in our specific region.
Lastly, it’s important for all partners to have buy-in from executive leadership. There are often great ideas to innovate coming from higher education, business partners and community partners, but it’s difficult to implement and sustain them without C-suite support. I’ve seen many partnerships fizzle out as a result.
Evo: What strategies can be implemented through these partnerships to ensure the ecosystems remain adaptive and forward thinking?
ND: Stakeholder engagement is key. You need a convener. Often it’s higher ed or K-12 who plays this role. As educational institutions, we see business as our product. We want to ensure we’re preparing students to meet industry needs.
Producing a homegrown talent pipeline is also key. In Southwest Washington, we work closely with the Economic Development Council, Workforce Development Board and the various chambers of commerce. At WSU Vancouver, we very much see ourselves as influencers in the regional economic ecosystem. As we work with partners to help existing businesses expand and attract new industries to the region, it’s important for us to produce homegrown talent that can contribute to the region’s economic vitality.
Evo: How do you measure the success of strategic partnerships and what metrics do you use?
ND: There are three metrics we can look at to measure success: a decline in opportunity youth, rate of postgraduation employment and regional economic wins. Opportunity youth are defined as 16- to 24-year-olds who are disengaged with the education or workforce system—students who are completely off the radar. We have about 20,000 of these students in our region. If we can reduce that number significantly, it’s a strong indicator of how well our region is doing at building these types of ecosystems for community members to prosper.
We can also look at how many students get a job within six months of graduating. There are challenges in that because it’s hard to track where students end up. We use surveys, faculty reporting, LinkedIn and the Alumni Association. However, we need to find a better way of tracking if and where our students get employed. That may be the most important metric in helping us understand if what we are doing is effective.
Economic wins are much easier to track. Some metrics could be how many companies started, expanded or relocated to the region. That metric only makes sense if the higher education institution is plugged into the regional economic development ecosystem. For us, two companies noted that meetings with higher ed stakeholders played a big role in growing or moving here. That shows the value of the ecosystem.
Evo: Is there anything you’d like to add?
ND: Accurate data and clear communication enable productive conversations with industry partners. In many ways, the success of this ecosystem can be measured by the rate of high school graduates who enroll in post-secondary education. Nationally, that number is around 30%.
The students who do enroll, face barriers to retention. We need demonstrate the ROI on higher education to retain them and offer clear pathways to economic mobility. Unless students see tangible opportunities for their future, we risk losing them. We need to find ways to increase engagement among high school students, which is the gold star indicator that we’re doing something right.