Evolving Academia/Industry Relations in Computing Research

In 2015, the CCC co-sponsored an industry round table that produced the document “The Future of Computing Research: Industry-Academic Collaborations.”  Since then, several important trends in computing research have emerged, and this document considers how those trends impact the interaction between academia and industry in computing fields.   We reach the following conclusions:

• In certain computing disciplines, such as currently artificial intelligence, we observe significant increases in the level of interaction between professors and companies, which take the form of extended joint appointments.
• Increasingly, companies are highly motivated to engage both professors and graduate students working in specific technical areas because companies view computing research and technical talent as a core aspect of their business success.
• There is also the further potential for principles and values from the academy (e.g., ethics, human-centered approaches, etc.) informing products and R&D roadmaps in new ways through these unique joint arrangements.
• This increasing connection between faculty, students, and companies has the potential to change (either positively or negatively) numerous things, including:
  • The academic culture in computing research universities
  • The research topics that faculty and students pursue
  • The ability to solve bigger problems with bigger impact than what academia can do alone
  • The ability of universities to train undergraduate and graduate students
  • How companies and universities cooperate, share, and interact

This report is the first step in engaging the broader computing research community, raising awareness of the opportunities, complexities and challenges of this trend but further work is required.  We recommend follow-up to measure the degree and impact of this trend and to establish best practices that are shared widely among computing research institutions.