Our suite of postgraduate programs serves to bridge the perceived divide between academics in ivory towers and practitioners in muddy trenches. Developed through university-industry collaboration to meet a strong and clearly voiced industry need the course material and assessment items are extremely practice-orientated and are closely linked to an individual student’s current workplace tasks. Current developments to enhance the distance learning experience of students involve the introduction of a web-based presence for each of the courses. Renewed university-industry consultation processes will ensure the continuation of our aus der praxis, fur die praxis. (from practice for practice) approach as we embark on further program developments.
A nexus develops through the respect shown, the recognition of experience and the sharing of knowledge of peoples of differing perspectives. This is now recognised in the Mode 2 knowledge (that which is evolved from real world applications) and demonstrated in transdisciplinary approaches. Traditionally the transdisciplinary strategy has been applied to problem solving and is now finding use within the educational sphere. This approach allows the alliance between a number of disciplines to find the area beyond and between the disciplines. Nicolescu (2002) purports that disciplinary knowledge is produced in vitro, is objective, leads to knowing, is the result of analytic intelligence, has an orientation towards power and possession, follows binary logic and excludes values. He asserts that transdisciplinary knowledge is produced in vivo, it involves correspondence between the external world (object) and the internal world (subject), it leads to understanding, is created from a new type of intelligence (the balance between intellect, feelings and the body), is orientated towards astonishment and sharing, follows a logic of the included middle and includes values. In this case the disciplines are education and engineering practice. The academics in university, engrossed in their own world of teaching and research, can be far removed from industry and the real world of the practitioner. Industry practitioners (students and casual lecturers), engrossed in their own world of day-to-day operations and profit margins, can be far removed from the processes of knowledge attainment and critical thinking and the real world of the educator. Our students having mostly started off with training in a recognised trade, later find themselves constrained in their ability to contribute and innovate, and they feel the need to enhance their capabilities by getting a postgraduate education that is industry-relevant. It is the dynamic interchange and continuous engagement of academic and practitioner that provides the increased awareness and mutual respect that has contributed to the development of industry relevant, educationally sound postgraduate programs in Maintenance Management at Central Queensland University (CQU).
The issue of developing collaborative programs between academia and industrial practitioners has been an issue for over a decade (Bradney, 1992) and remains on the agenda as highlighted by Treby and Shah (2005, p.16) when they contend that “skills development is enhanced by the inclusion of teaching staff with industry experience, the addition of visiting speakers, other good contact and input from relevant professionals and the opportunity to undertake workbased learning”. Indeed as long ago as the early 1990’s Wright (1990, p. 1) emphases that “over the last few years, the view that industry and higher education should work more closely together has come to be an allbut-unshakeable part of the dominant, conventional wisdom”. This notion helped establish the mindset for the development of the postgraduate programs at CQU by practitioners and academics working together.
nexus develops through the respect shown, the recognition of experience and the sharing of knowledge of peoples of differing perspectives. This is now recognised in the Mode 2 knowledge (that which is evolved from real world applications) and demonstrated in transdisciplinary approaches. Traditionally the transdisciplinary strategy has been applied to problem solving and is now finding use within the educational sphere. This approach allows the alliance between a number of disciplines to find the area beyond and between the disciplines. Nicolescu (2002) purports that disciplinary knowledge is produced in vitro, is objective, leads to knowing, is the result of analytic intelligence, has an orientation towards power and possession, follows binary logic and excludes values. He asserts that transdisciplinary knowledge is produced in vivo, it involves correspondence between the external world (object) and the internal world (subject), it leads to understanding, is created from a new type of intelligence (the balance between intellect, feelings and the body), is orientated towards astonishment and sharing, follows a logic of the included middle and includes values. In this case the disciplines are education and engineering practice. The academics in university, engrossed in their own world of teaching and research, can be far removed from industry and the real world of the practitioner. Industry practitioners (students and casual lecturers), engrossed in their own world of day-to-day operations and profit margins, can be far removed from the processes of knowledge attainment and critical thinking and the real world of the educator. Our students having mostly started off with training in a recognised trade, later find themselves constrained in their ability to contribute and innovate, and they feel the need to enhance their capabilities by getting a postgraduate education that is industry-relevant. It is the dynamic interchange and continuous engagement of academic and practitioner that provides the increased awareness and mutual respect that has contributed to the development of industry relevant, educationally sound postgraduate programs in Maintenance Management at Central Queensland University (CQU).
The issue of developing collaborative programs between academia and industrial practitioners has been an issue for over a decade (Bradney, 1992) and remains on the agenda as highlighted by Treby and Shah (2005, p.16) when they contend that “skills development is enhanced by the inclusion of teaching staff with industry experience, the addition of visiting speakers, other good contact and input from relevant professionals and the opportunity to undertake workbased learning”. Indeed as long ago as the early 1990’s Wright (1990, p. 1) emphasises that “over the last few years, the view that industry and higher education should work more closely together has come to be an all-but-unshakeable part of the dominant, conventional wisdom”. This notion helped establish the mindset for the development of the postgraduate programs at CQU by practitioners and academics working together.
The James Goldston Faculty of Engineering and Physical Systems at Central Queensland University (CQU), located in the city of Rockhampton in Queensland, Australia, developed the first suite of postgraduate programs in 1995. The Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma in Maintenance Management were introduced and have been delivered by this university since then. In 1998, the Master of Maintenance Management by coursework was added to this suite. All three programs were initially developed in collaboration with a strong and clearly voiced need by industry based mainly in Gladstone, a city 120 kilometres from Rockhampton. The programs now have a more national and international focus.
There were several reasons why regional industry supported and contributed to the development of these programs. The first was that senior managers in the region recognised the urgent need for their staff to gain knowledge in this critical function and for them to be acknowledged for this achievement through the award of a formal qualification from a recognised university. Secondly, many of these senior managers themselves wanted the opportunity to study Maintenance Management but found that the few programs offered then by other universities were neither flexible enough nor appropriately targeted to meet industry requirements. Thirdly, in recognition of the communities support of industry in the region, industries, who had invested and benefited from being in the region, wanted to demonstrate they were good corporate citizens by financially supporting the development of such programs and enhancing the capacity of their local campus and the greater Central Queensland University organisation. There had also been a desire within the community to have a larger engineering presence at the newly established Gladstone campus of CQU.
As the programs were designed to be industry-relevant, practitioner focused casual lecturers teaching courses within the program have been sourced from industry. This means that the majority of the staff involved in delivering the program are not academics, they are practitioners. The program is coordinated however by academics of Central Queensland University as the university has the responsibility of administering the programs. This has implications when we discuss the ivory towers and the muddy trenches dynamic. The collaborative partnership or nexus, between practitioners and academics at the development and delivery level ensures that teaching materials and class discussions are up-to-date with current practices, both theoretically and operationally. In order to achieve this educationalpractitioner dynamic requires stakeholders to operate within a transdisciplinary team. As Gibbons et al.(1994, p.5) says:
Though it has emerged from a particular context of application, transdisciplinary knowledge develops its own distinct theoretical structures, research methods, and modes of practice, though they may not be located on the prevalent disciplinary map. The effort is cumulative, though the direction of accumulation may travel in a number of different directions after a major problem has been solved.
The programs are delivered in a distance mode so that they are flexible for people currently working in industry. The students enrolled all study on a part time basis as they are working full time. Having a current position in a maintenance role is in fact a requirement for entry into the programs. At this stage, the study materials are mostly in the form of printed material. However, the increasing uptake of the use of Broadband Internet in Australia has presented an opportunity to develop materials for delivery using electronic media.
In practice oriented, industry based programs such as these, what is the role of the university – or the ivory tower as much of industry sees us? If the people developing and delivering the course materials are industry people who are participating in the program in a part time manner, what does the ivory tower add? The answer is the educational environment and the educational credibility the program offers. It is within this learning environment that students are exposed to the academic rigour conducive to the development of an inquiring mind. Learning, as opposed to training, equips the student with an understanding and the ability to apply critical thinking skills in order to use the learned knowledge in a different context to which it was learnt. Formal learning encourages much deeper learning than training. Such a transfer of learned knowledge and skills to other contexts allows innovative practice which meets the requirements of industry as opposed to the adoption of prescriptive strategies created by training. As a result the student’s educational experience of connecting with the ivory tower is what ensures learning rather than training occurs.
In successfully delivering engineering education to practitioners an emphasis needs to be placed upon an andragogical approach. Knowles (1984, p.52) acknowledges andragogy as being a parallel to pedagogy and defines it "as the art and science of helping adults learn". In an andragogical model such learners characteristically:
Kasworm and Marienau (1997, p.7) further emphases that for these learners "learning occurs in context; its significance relates in part to its impact on those contexts; and learning from experiences is a unique meaning-making event that creates diversity among adult learners". Students enrolled in our suite of programs exhibit all of the hallmarks of an andragogical learner.
At the residential schools the sharing of the experiences or narrative of academics, casual lecturers and students is greatly encouraged and enacted. Through this mechanism we acknowledge the importance of their life and work experience and empower them by having them contribute to developing the context of their learning through these interchanges. Indeed out of such a dialogue process students are able to share and outline successful strategies and problem solving processes that other practitioners acknowledge and indicate they will adopt or adapt to their own workplace. Also through the process of narrative adapted solutions or strategies have evolved and contributed to new knowledge of dealing with such real-life circumstances.
The Faculty also adopts a Blended Learning Model in offering its delivery. As Valiathan (2002, ¶1) notes: The term blended learning is used to describe a solution that combines several different delivery methods, such as collaboration software, Web-based courses, EPSS (Electronic Performance Support Systems), and knowledge management practices. Blended learning also is used to describe learning that mixes various event-based activities, including faceto-face classrooms, live e-learning, and self-paced learning.
Such blended learning models are exhibited in our delivery strategies and are apparent in the conduction of residential schools (face-to-face classrooms), the development and deployment of web-based facilities through Blackboard platform (web-based courses and live e-learning) and the use of guest speakers (knowledge management practices). Furthermore students have contact with their lecturer through telephone, email, and web based communication (to staff and class colleagues).
A student’s professional responsibility shifts from dayto-day operations and profit margins to sustainable practices which incorporates taking into consideration the triple-bottom line; consisting of the three dimensions – environmental, social and economical. The triple bottom line usually means expanding the traditional company reporting framework to take into account these multiple dimensions. It is within the educational environment of the ivory tower that these concepts can be explored. Cultural change is derived from the industry-university nexus. This is achieved by raising student’s awareness of the need to account for the real world imperatives that industry is faced with while being professionally responsible for the enactment of sustainable practices.
The ivory tower is needed to ensure that the program has a scholarly credibility. Training courses could deliver the material, but an educational approach based on scholarship ensures that the concepts presented and the outcomes delivered are not only grounded in practice, but are backed up by the latest research of best practice, both technical and educational. The scholarly aspect of the program ensures that the graduate is educated as a professional, rather than trained as a more skilled maintenance practitioner.
It is from the muddy trenches that the casual lecturers (those who deliver the courses), as well as the students, are sourced. This has been done purposefully to balance the academic credibility with industrial credibility. As mentioned earlier, the program is practice oriented and industry based, and relies upon the experience and knowledge of those who are current practitioners. The blending of these practitioners’ theoretical background, practical knowledge and on site experience contributes to a dynamic and holistic understanding of real life in the muddy trenches of Maintenance Management. Such a perspective enhances the educational experiences of the students. This visible link to the real world gives the program credibility in industry, which is vital for the students. Consequently the programs are academically and industrially robust.
While academics are learning-centric, practitioners are more training-centric. Chak (n.d., ¶3) highlights that learning tends to focus upon "where the learner is" and includes exploring, acknowledging and developing such aspects as an individual's learning objectives, motivation, knowledge level and preference of learning modes. As Vallely (1992, p. 20) highlights “training is something you have done to you. Learning is something which you do for yourself”.
The emphasis placed on an adult learning cycle is outlined by Chak (n.d., ¶3) as being "gaining experience - reviewing experience - conceptualisation - experimentation". In contrast training, "tends to direct the trainer’s attention and efforts in solving the trainer’s problems and achieving training effectiveness" (Chak, n.d., ¶2). Therefore the emphasis placed on a training cycle becomes a "tell, show, and do" approach.
We now consider further the learning-training dynamic. The student enters the learning environment with certain expectations of what their learning experience should be. This expectation is based upon their previous experiences. The learning environment directs the student to what type of learning is expected by the institution. If the student perceives from the environment that surface learning is expected, then they will surface learn. If they perceive that deep learning is expected then they will deep learn. Within the learning events conducted by the practitioners (muddy trenches) learned knowledge and skills are developed, while the program (ivory tower) develops the holistic outcome.
While a number of students in the programs are qualified engineers, the majority are trades qualified, highly experienced maintenance practitioners, and in a great many cases working at a supervisory level in the maintenance field. They bring with them many years of maintenance experience, but very little in the way of functional academic skills. This has implications for the programs in ensuring that the experiences within the programs upskills them academically by providing them with the ability to develop relevant research techniques, develop their information literacy and through the academics, casual lecturers and university’s Communications Learning Centre the ability to develop and improve their written communication skills (report writing, essay writing, referencing).
Since these students are currently in the maintenance area and additionally they have long term experience backed up by trade qualifications, and since the course work and assessment items are embedded in workplace tasks and problems, these programs recognise these experiences as advanced standing for entry to post graduate programs. While this is not a traditional entry pathway to postgraduate study, these are not traditional postgraduate programs. Indeed these programs are distinguished by their dynamic and innovative nature and their provision of a forward looking perspective to preventative and operative maintenance practices. Consequently we are producing knowledgeable, innovative and proactive professionals resulting in truly aus der praxis, fur die praxis (from practice for practice) postgraduate programs as opposed to more traditionally purely theoretically based postgraduate awards.
The academics within the Faculty and the casual lecturers based in industry have worked consistently within an aus der praxis, fur die praxis (from practice for practice) approach in order to develop, conduct, review and update the courses within the Maintenance Management programs. As Brown and Duguid (1996, p. 40) highlight:
Working, learning, and innovating are closely related forms of human activity that are conventionally thought to conflict with each other. Work practice is generally viewed as conservative and resistant to change; learning is generally viewed as distinct from working and problematic in the face of change; and innovation is generally viewed as the disruptive but necessary imposition of change on the other two. To see that working, learning, and innovating are interrelated and compatible and thus potentially complementary not conflicting forces requires a distinct conceptual shift.
Such an evidence-based approach has ensured that continuous engagement occurs between the ivory tower and the muddy trenches through various mechanisms; through university processes (quality assurance) and through formal and informal communication channels (email discussion, face-to-face, telephone, Access Grid (videoconferencing)). With the administering of flexible delivery, the development of a course profile and the updating of course materials occur for each delivery of the course. Through Faculty quality assurance processes it is necessary that a primary and a secondary reviewer oversee development of course profiles, including the updated assessment items in them, for each offering-term to ensure compliance (copyright compliance, university format compliance). The continuous engagement brings about the integration of up-to-date or emerging educational and industrial practices and serves to keep the delivery and content of the material current. It also provides the avenue for adopting innovations or forwardlooking practices.
The notion of aus der praxis, fur die praxis (from practice for practice) must be integrated into the industrial arena and the academic arena. So developments in industrial approaches/practices need to inform and transform industrial practitioners just as much as developments in educational approaches/practices needs to inform and transform educational practitioners. This gives the nexus between the muddy trenches and the ivory towers as shown in Figure 1.
Gouveia (1999, p. 223) believes that "education, learning and training is on the move". Barnett (1995, as cited in Gouveia,1999) highlights educational practices are passing from a "stockknowledge" model to a "flowknowledge" model, which involves a transition of understanding of what knowledge is. Indeed where knowledge has been seen as a "cumulative activity based on a well oriented line of thought to gather related information" they believe it to be recast where "interaction and discussion brings new redefinitions of structure in basic knowledge". As educational practitioners we have enacted some of the elements of a "flowknowledge" model through the experience of sharing narratives of participants at residential schools and the creation of new knowledge through the emergence of a solution or strategy. This nexus is the alternative reality that is developed from the transdisciplinary approach. According to Hargreaves (1998, p21), This Mode 2 knowledge is not created in a university by researchers and then applied somewhere in the real world by practicing professionals: it evolves within the context of its application out in the real world... The team generating the knowledge may consist of people of very different backgrounds working together temporarily to solve a problem. The number of sites where such knowledge can be generated is greatly increased; they are linked by functioning networks of communication. The knowledge is then most readily diffused, not so much through books or academic journals, but through informal and personal channels, as when those who participated in its original production move to new situations.
This outcome is a true transdisciplinary outcome as the “flowknowledge” contributes to the body of knowledge or the “stockknowledge” that lies beyond and between the existing discipline knowledge.
The administration and quality control of the strategic and operational aspects of the programs are coordinated by a program committee chaired by the Program Director. In addition to meeting regularly to discuss and to make decisions, this committee conducts regular Access Grid (video-conferencing) sessions with industrybased casual lecturers to discuss matters relating to operational, curriculum (including assessment) and further development of these programs.
While industry-based casual lecturers provide the industry-relevant knowledge useful for students, they have to be informed of the academic aspects of assessments such as designing their assessment items to assess the students on how well they have met the learning outcomes of the units. Members of the committee have several sessions with industry-based casual lecturers to assist them with the development of their assessment items. Casual lecturers, after having gone through these sessions, are expected to be able to develop future assessment items with minimal assistance from a third party.
While the programs were initially developed as a result of collaboration with regional industries, and the first cohorts of students were mainly from the Central Queensland region, recent students are from all parts of Australia, with a small international contingent being apparent currently and having a presence during previous times. This broadening of the student base over the years requires the material taught to be relevant to a variety of industries and for it to have a more national focus.
While these programs are by coursework, engagement with industry relating to Maintenance Management has brought about the opportunity for the university to attract students to undertake research in the area of Maintenance Management. This contributes to the broadening of the knowledge of Maintenance Management in industry and strengthens the recursive loop; aus der praxis, fur die praxis (from practice for practice).
A suite of postgraduate programs for Maintenance Management is offered by Central Queensland University, supported by casual lecturers sourced from industry. This ensures that the people teaching into the programs are themselves practitioners in the industry. Casual lecturers from industry are informed and trained to familiarise them with the proper assessment procedures. This improves the course-delivery skills of casual lecturers engaged to teach courses of the programs. As most students are working with industry, the distance-delivery mode for these programs suits their need. It also provides them with the opportunity to gain an industry-relevant qualification while continuing being employed.
We undertake a continuous engagement approach in ensuring that the dialogue between the ivory tower and the muddy trenches provides the opportunity of continuous improvement of the programs so that they remain cutting edge, innovative and provide a legitimate postgraduate pathway for predominately trade qualified industry-based practitioners.