The Working Partners Research Project & Workshops originated as a research project funded through NSF's Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program; the results and findings informed, inspired, and shaped the subsequent Working Partners Workshops. 
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​The Working Partners Research Project, utilizing a mixed-methods approach, endeavored to discover, document, and disseminate the key factors and core practices associated with industry/college partnerships within the ATE community.  Results included: ​
  • A fully articulated set of ATE/industry models
  • A deeper understanding of the challenges, impacts and implementation practices of ATE industry partnerships
  • The co-development of a partnership assessment tool
  • Dissemination activities that distributed the research findings, data and deliverables in usable formats
  • A body of data and knowledge on which to build future research
  • More robust industry partnerships at multiple institutions nationwide, informed by WP research, which potentially lead to better student outcomes

​The Working Partners Workshops are in response to the team's finding that less than 2% of ATE PIs reported formal professional development experiences in the area of industry partnerships, with none mentioning instruction or guided development of an industry partnership action plan or support for the execution of such a plan.  The workshops provide such an opportunity and support the work of skilled technological workforce educators with initiating, sustaining and evaluating the critical industry partnerships necessary for work-ready, right-skilled graduates.

For more information, please visit the sections of this site and connect with us at [email protected]