Academe/Industry Relationships: Balancing Academic Principles and Marketplace Demands  

Recognizing that theory is of value only if it can be applied, academics must envision the world beyond the classroom and prepare students to compete in a market-driven world. Practicing professionals must be willing to share their expertise and their technology with academic programs and must work to strengthen connections with the academy. Advisory boards, mentoring programs, internships and fellowships for faculty and practitioners as well as for students, team teaching, guest lecturing, distance learning, and collaborative research projects– these are but a few of the ways to bridge the gap between and industry, thereby improving the education of future technical communicators and advancing the profession.

Sutliff, Kristene. STC Proceedings (2000). Articles>Collaboration>Industry and Academy

Academic/Industry Relationships: A Challenge for Both Sides    

Emerging technologies create new challenges for academicians and practitioners alike. The two groups must have mutual respect and must strive for balance between academic principles and marketplace demands. Through shadowing, mentoring, internship programs (for faculty and practitioners as well as for students), collaborative research projects, and other means we can begin to share expertise and technology that will help bridge the gap between academe and industry.

Sutliff, Kristene. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Collaboration>Industry and Academy

Integrating Academics and Industry: A Challenge for Both Sides    

Rapidly emerging technologies are bringing radical changes and challenges to today’s workplace, not just for our own profession but for many others as well. As society’s information needs change, so do the roles of technical communicators. Even the questions technical communicators face are constantly evolving: Which medium to use—and when, and how? Paper or online? Verbal or visual? Such questions were unheard of when many of us entered the profession, but they are commonplace for many practicing technical communicators today (as they certainly will be for many of today’s university students in their careers—and it’s impossible to guess what other questions will be just as routine for them, questions we cannot predict because quite likely the concepts and gadgets and words involved do not yet exist).

Sutliff, Kristene. Journal of Computer Documentation (2000). Articles>Education>TC

Teaching Civic Responsibility Through Service Learning  

Service-learning pedagogy can help develop both writing skills and civic responsibility by involving students in writing projects for nonprofit organizations. This linking of the classroom and the world beyond merges theory and practice, allowing students to serve their community while applying and testing the effectiveness of their classroom learning. Most important, service learning makes students aware of the power of writing on the job and of their own ability to make a difference when they use their skills for the benefit of a cause greater than themselves.

Sutliff, Kristene. STC Proceedings (2000). Articles>Education>Service Learning

Technical Communication and Service Learning: Goals and Guidelines  

Service-learning pedagogy can help develop both writing skills and civic responsibility by involving students in writing projects for nonprofit organizations. Course policy statements should include provisions to encourage responsible student participation, and students should submit regular progress reports so the instructor can make sure clients are served satisfactorily. This linking of the classroom and the world beyond merges theory and practice, allowing students to serve their community while applying and testing the effectiveness of their classroom learning.

Sutliff, Kristene and Leigh Henson. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Education>Service Learning