Improving construction education: The role of collaborations between higher institutions and the construction industry

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are developmental hubs that contributes to a country's economic growth through knowledge generation, dissemination and skills diffusion among students. For HEIs to maintain their roles in fostering construction education to equip students for the industry, the current traditional pedagogical approaches are simply not enough to deliver on its mandate. One of the many ways through which HEIs can improve the quality of construction education today is through collaborations with the construction industry. Through a structured questionnaire survey, this paper identified the possible roles that collaboration between HEIs and the construction industry will play in fostering construction education. The sample for this study consisted of one hundred and twenty-six (126) respondents drawn from professionals in the Nigerian construction industry. The study revealed that exposing construction students to the world of work, strengthening universities in conducting quality and relevant research and creating and training students with key skills industry require, are among the benefits of collaboration between the HEIs and the construction industry. The study found that there is an increased need for HEIs to collaborate with the construction industry to be progressive, relevant and produce skilled graduates who will spur the activities of the construction industry. This study recommends that HEIs seek collaboration with the industry so as to address the shortcomings of higher education in Nigeria and Africa in general.