Everywhere in today's university environment there's talk of alliances with industry and public sector organizations. Looking simply at digital technology within the University of Minnesota, CS&E's Computer Science Associates (CSA) program comes immediately to mind. To name just a few more, one also thinks of the DTC's Affiliates program, the Carlson Information and Decision Science department's MIS Research Center and Information Industry Initiative programs, and the Department of Rhetoric's Industrial Affiliates Program (focused on web and technical communication, and related internet studies). There's clearly strong interest both inside and outside the University to create and sustain these multiple alliances. Just what is the "value proposition" for alliances like these, both from the University and the affiliating company or public sector agency perspectives?

I suspect that my company.s viewpoint on these alliances is similar to that of most other affiliate organizations. Perhaps a perspective on the Unisys philosophy and approach to university alliances can provide some insight into that broader .value proposition..

For a technology-based services and products company like Unisys, close alliances with research universities have a direct and significant bearing on corporate success. Several years ago Unisys CEO Larry Weinbach personally initiated the Unisys University Alliance Program. The purpose of this program is to encourage development of deep relationships with a select number of top research universities worldwide. The University of Minnesota is one of our alliance partner schools.

These alliances are an important and highly visible part of our business. Division Presidents, Senior Vice Presidents and General Managers, and the CEO himself, serve as executives of interest responsible for guiding each relationship. Scott Vogel, Vice President and General Manager for Unisys North American Systems and Technology Sales and Services, is the Executive of Interest for the Unisys U of M Alliance. Assisting the Executive of interest is an Alliance Manager(s) (Bill Rohde and John Curtin for the U of M), and a Human Resources Partner (Michael Wiest for the U of M). For the Unisys U of M relationship we also have an extended group of employees who personally work with various University programs and student organizations. In addition, Unisys employee Tom Burk currently chairs the Minne-sota High Technology Association.s U of M Committee.

There are three primary dimensions of our Unisys University Alliance relationships: recruiting, research, and continuing education.

Recruiting: Fresh new minds driven to produce and deliver the next generation of IT products and services are as essential as air to companies for whom technology is a major factor in business success. Only with ready sources of top talent can companies in this industry thrive and grow. Deep and broad relationships with leading universities create positive relationships that help assure access to that graduating talent pool.

But business and public sector organizations also have a responsibility back to the universities in this business of developing future talent. We need to be helping guide curriculum development where appropriate, serving as classroom resources when requested, providing speakers, sponsoring student projects, partnering with student organizations, supporting universities in their diversity goals, and offering students real world work experiences through coop and internship programs. In doing so, we as alliance partners help assure that our partner universities are well positioned to attract the best and brightest students.

Research: A second key alliance dimension relates to research. Close relationships with ongoing university research projects, selected joint research efforts, equipment and other donations to help advance university research missions, and the direct involvement of industry or public sector personnel in selected research endeavors, each represent activities invaluable to both parties in the alliance. The U.s Digital Technology Center and individual University departments, such as CS&E, are particularly well positioned to leverage these joint opportunities.

Continuing Education: A third key alliance dimension relates to the university as a resource for keeping industry and public sector workforces current with today's rapidly changing skills requirements. At any one point in time, numerous Unisys employees can be found pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees at the U of M. Others selectively enroll in individual courses, and many more take regular advantage of University-sponsored seminars or conferences. Within Unisys we have selectively arranged for U of M professors to present seminars on selected topics, sometimes using our internal corporate "Unisys Business TV" to simultaneously reach employees at other Unisys locations. In the future we anticipate even further expanding this continuing education dimension, leveraging selected areas of university expertise by arranging for professors to present custom classes or seminars as an integral part of our internal education curriculum.

In total, these three alliance dimensions combine to form what I like to call a Win/Win/Win strategy. Alliance partners are not totally altruistic in their goals, and clearly the above dimensions are a win for industry or public sector organizations participating in university alliances. Hopefully, and we in Unisys certainly believe this to be the case, universities also win in each of the above alliance dimensions. Ultimately the third winner is the student. Through university alliance relationships with industry and public sector organizations, the learning environment is hopefully enriched, real world problems and challenges are more directly brought into the classroom, research opportunities are enhanced and made more relevant, and placement opportunities for exciting careers become more readily available.

Yet perhaps there's a fourth win too, the community at large. This fourth dimension was perhaps best exemplified by the industry-government-university partnership that sparked formation of the U.s Digital Technology Center just a few years ago. Through relationships like these all partners can make a difference ... and we all, truly, win.

- Bill Rohde
Software Engineering Director and U of M Alliance Manager
Unisys Corporation