Forging Strategic Business Partnerships to Develop the 21st Century Workforce: A Case Study of the University of Houston's Undergraduate Petroleum Engineering Program
BHEF is committed to aligning education and the workforce to create the talent and capacity for innovation necessary to keep regions, states, and the nation economically competitive. As part of that work, BHEF strives to analyze the factors that contribute to effective business and higher education partnerships that align education and the workforce. To reach this deeper understanding, BHEF periodically examines exemplary “innovative communities” already in existence.
One such center of innovation is in Houston, where leaders in the energy industry collaborated with the University of Houston to launch, and quickly grow, a highly successful undergraduate program in petroleum engineering. The success of this partnership stands as a model of how business and higher education can collaborate to meet workforce needs. It both exemplifies a successful strategy for improved alignment between education and the workforce, and it demonstrates the value that is inherent in synergies among business, higher education, and the community.
