Facilities @ Management

3.2 Facilities Management Industry–Student Partnership – an Exploratory Study

Parminder Juneja

Industry and student partnership is a win-win for both. Research shows that industry engagement with students exist in many forms. Direct partnership where students work on industry projects for their thesis or capstone. Indirect partnership where industry engages with accreditation agencies and sets learning expectations from graduates. The key objective of this partnership is to prepare students as employees of the future who fit right in to fill the talent gap, reduce workforce shortage, and continue to work in the field of facilities management. This also helps the students in finding their interest niche much quicker, sustain their interests, and make a success driven career.

This study was conducted to find the status quo of the partnership between the local construction and facilities management industry and the construction management program, specifically facilities management students, at a public research university (Kennesaw State University – KSU) in the southeastern region of the United States. The study identified the significance of the need to further work on this partnership to create a win-win for the facilities management profession and the students.

Introduction

Partnership between academia, specifically students, and industry, is significant to accomplish a win-win future for both the employers (i.e., the profession) and the students, i.e., the prospective ...