The sponsoring by industry of universities of cooperative education: a case study in Germany

The current situation in the education sector requires academic institutions to be more flexible in terms of their approach to academic funding as well as in ensuring the appropriate return for businesses that are willing to sponsor their academic activities. The German model discussed in this article shows how a university of cooperative education in Germany was able to obtain assistance from a large business for a collaborative learning approach between academia and business. Sponsorship by businesses and foundations can provide imaginative solutions to the funding of higher education, all the more vital at a time when new technology has brought revolutionary changes in private and work life. Not only can business provide the necessary funding, but it can also facilitate a more effective and pragmatic approach to education. This article describes the various elements of sponsorship and how a university of cooperative education in Germany has started to explore ways to overcome the exclusive research focus by sponsoring companies and to start experimenting with new concepts in order to participate in private support from the business sector. Those new collaborations could be, for example, in the area of knowledge transfer and providing various ways of cooperation; that is, part- time lectures or student- consultancy assignments, where students try to solve a specific business issue. (AsiaPacific Journal of Cooperative Education, 2008, 9(1), 1-13).