Kansas State University

Office of corporate engagement releases 2013 progress report

Submitted by Richard Potter

Kansas State University has been partnering with industry since its founding more than 150 years ago. Corporations look to K-State to recruit talented graduates, to collaborate on research projects and to tap into intellectual capital and expertise.

Corporate executives serve on department advisory boards and collaborate to commercialize and license innovative new technologies.

As the world of university-industry relations evolves, the pace of change is accelerating. Public demands for corporate transparency have increased dramatically during the last few decades, and deliverables have become the new normal in university-industry partnerships.

As Kansas State University advances toward becoming a Top 50 public research university, it has embraced this new paradigm of university-industry relations.

In June 2012, K-State launched the office of corporate engagement to foster comprehensive, interdisciplinary relationships that engage all aspects of the university with a broad variety of industry partners. The office serves internally as an information resource to support faculty and staff working across disciplines to develop efficient and synergistic corporate partnerships. It also serves as a first point of contact for corporations that wish to enlist K-State’s assets and faculty expertise as they pursue their strategic goals and objectives.

During the past 14 months, the K-State office of corporate engagement has:

• Conducted an internal listening tour to establish and foster relationships with college deans, associate deans of research, department heads, faculty members, KSU Foundation development officers and directors of centers and institutes across all three campuses
• Reached out to more than 30 corporations — nearly half of which had little or no prior connection to K-State — as well as regional economic development councils, chambers of commerce and community colleges
• Established internal advisory and working groups to direct and support K-State’s overall corporate engagement strategy
• Formed internal tactical teams as corporate partnerships develop.

Details of the office’s 2013 activities, plus goals for 2014, can be found in the 2013 Kansas State University office of corporate engagement progress report, available for download in PDF format.