Integration between industry and university: Case study, Faculty of Engineering at Rabigh, Saudi Arabia

•Much effort has been made by Faculty of Engineering at Rabigh (FER) to collaborate with surrounding industries.•The aim of this study is to solve short- and long-term technological issues at the industrial units.•Industry should promote young entrepreneurs and encourage new ideas and methodologies.•Academic entrepreneurship is a main factor to achieve economic prosperity.

Collaboration between university and industry has long existed, but the rapid increase of global knowledge has increased the demand for strategic relationships that go beyond the conventional funding of research projects. University research should be developed in future to play an important role in industry and in turn economic growth. For a successful collaboration, both sides should overcome the communication and cultural divide that impair university–industry relationships across all categories and undercut their potential. Faculty of Engineering at Rabigh (FER) – King Abdulaziz University (KAU) is strategically located near major industries and facilities such as Petro Rabigh, desalination plant, steel fabrication, and cement industries, which makes FER a nucleus to solve technological problems for all these industries. Much effort has been made at FER to collaborate with these industries through mutual reciprocal visits of university and industry personnel as well as student internships. These are aimed to solve both short- and long-term technological issues at the industrial units. This will not only improve the local knowledge base and skills, but also bring confidence and trust between the two partners. It is well known that innovation does not take place in vacuum: a context – the economy, society, and policy – determines how easy or difficult it is to innovate. In this context, the role of government is also very important to create legislations that make the university–industry relationship a win–win situation.