The main objective of the Rice ECE Affiliates Program is to support the mutual needs of business, industry, and academia in electrical and computer engineering research, development, and education. This is accomplished by providing appropriate mechanisms for technical exchange, collaboration, and employment of students.
The program offers many benefits to business and industry. There is the
opportunity to influence research and education, and to participate in
long-range technical assessments of problems and directions in the
field. Contacts with prospective employees can be established easily;
affiliates have early access to student resumes, and to student and
faculty publications. Special seminars and short courses can be
arranged. Faculty members are available for informal
technical discussions and more formal presentations. The ECE department
would also help make arrangements for consulting agreements between
faculty members and industrial affiliate companies.
The advantages to the University are also substantial. We can learn
about current problems in industry. Students become acquainted with
industrial needs. Summer internships in local and national industry
provide students with a complementary element to their education. The
result of this interaction is greater excellence in both the research
and teaching missions of the department.
At a more general level, the Affiliates Program is an example of a constructive relationship between industry and the University -- a relationship that stimulates developments in both segments of our society.
