It is often said that academia-industry linkages are advantageous for innovation performance and for sustaining economic growth of a nation. The workplace learning centers as offered by the Industries are very useful in finding the missing links between the existing knowledge and the practical scenario of the workplace – the ultimate destination of the graduates. Thus the intensive interaction between industries and academic institutions can largely reduce the gap between the theories and practices leading to efficient innovation and boosting up of economy. In Bangladesh, the concept might sound new but it has been very successful in most of the western and developed countries. In South Asian region India has strongly emphasized on such linkages. The CUST strongly holds that a meaningful partnership between academia and industry can be beneficial to both provided the working modalities are judiciously outlined. Based on this philosophy, CUST welcomes the industries, corporate sectors and other enterprises to be a part of its U & I Linkage program. Such a linkage secures benefits for both the partners as appended below:

Industrial Linkage is not only a concept but a widely used practice in many developed and developing countries. It is generally said that University-Industrial Linkages secures brings some tangible and intangible benefits to the partners. First, in university-industry linkage context, the transfer of knowledge from university to industry occurs in two forms: formal and informal. Formal transfer leads to visible results in the form of patents, research papers, licensing agreement, etc. On the other hand, the informal transfer leads to intangible results and includes conferences, workshops, social networking, joint research projects, consultation, and qualified employees. To create value, knowledge and technology transfers could be considered as the outcomes of such collaboration. Global universities, with a view to securing research grants, complementing theatrical learning with the real life one and ensuring better placement of their graduates, generally maintain good linkages with industries. As an industry-driven university CUST aims to benefit most from its linkages with concerned industries.

In the context of globalization with increased competitiveness, the role of a university in shaping the economy is further enhanced. A symbiotic relationship between the university and industry is very significant because the relationship between those two can foster economic development of a nation. In a world of fast changing technology and competition, it is necessary for the university to collaborate with industry to combine efforts fostering the diffusion of knowledge, increasing research and development, patenting innovation and commercializing products. It has also become increasingly accepted that the close university-industry interactions can secure national economic prosperity. From these points of view, the CUST aims to secure maximum benefits for its students through Industrial linkages. CUST also hope that an intensive collaboration with the industrial sector would pave the way to produce graduates based on the needs of the country and beyond.

In today’s fast changing business and work milieu, scanning the environment and maintaining pace with the changes is a necessity to succeed. Thus CUST believes that theories learnt in the classes must be tallied with the real life scenario prevailing in the work environment. Accordingly, CUST embraces the concept of Workplace Learning Centre to bring to a meaningful completion of the study program it offers. The Workplace Learning Centre program offers CUST students an opportunity to undertake an accredited work placement in the sector of their choice at the fag-end of their program. Workplace learning mostly occurs through work-related interactions, and is generally described as contributing to the learning of both the individual students under placement and the organization as a whole.

CUST believes, beyond any doubt that an experienced person is the best source of right information especially when we talk about the practical field. Thus it always desires to benefit from sharing the real life experiences of the great people working in the dynamic and challenging environment. CUST holds that a work place learning center will enable its students to gain practical experience that would complement their learning of theories in the classrooms. Such learning centers would also provide them networking opportunities that might help gain a suitable employment for them. The main focus of such placement in the workplace learning center is on developing their ability to reflect on and develop their own professional practice and gain an in-depth understanding of the graduate working environment.

The “Centre for Industrial Linkage and Workplace learning (CILWL)” of CUST is responsible to maintain Industrial Linkage through which it intends to bring culmination of different study programs offered by CUST. In doing so, after identifying leading business organizations, the CILWL signs MOU and maintains constant liaison with a number of companies under different industries from which the students can harness the most critical and industry-driven competencies. Thus the leading business firms of the country are approached by CILWL to lend their invaluable support to CUST in shaping its graduates for the competitive globalized world. However, CUST would like to have leading industrialists of the country as the Industrial Professorial Fellow for sharing their invaluable experiences in running businesses. Such fellows would often be invited to deliver their life-inspiring speeches in CUST campus time to time

As already said, CUST structure essentially includes a dedicated “Centre for Industrial Linkage and Workplace learning” headed by its Director. This center liaises with befitting (as per the course program) host business conglomerates to make them understand about the importance of maintaining a workplace learning center by the latter to facilitate the study of CUST students. CUST crafted a win-win partnership proposal that would benefit both CUST and the partner business firm/organization. CUST would place the students in the workplace learning center for a certain period during which the classes would be conducted by the experts from the partner firm. Importantly, the assessment during such attachment would also be done by the partner organization. As such CUST would treat the experts imparting education as its faculty members. To facilitate learning through such centers, CUST would provide all necessary training support too.

Industrial Professorial Fellows are industrialists of national and international eminence who have the desire to contribute to the society and nation by engaging themselves with the process of imparting education. The CUST would like to involve them in the academic, research and development activities of the University. CUST has a strong professorial framework that offers one a range of professorial designations. The predominant purpose of these roles is to contribute to the further development of the academic and research culture of the university.

The purposes are:

• To act as a channel of communication between CUST and Industry.
• To advise CUST on the development and revision of its programmes.
• To advise CUST on suitable/relevant training and development program and internships for CUST graduates and industry.

• To advise CUST on issues such as new and emerging trends, changing needs of industry and employment of CUST graduates

Industrial experts who are leaders in their fields having at least 12 years of Experience.

Please leave a copy of message at the email address, career@cust.edu.bd with your latest Curriculum Vitae & a Cover Letter of expressing interest, if you think appropriate.