The Edith Cowan University in Perth, Western Australia, is committed to a mission which engages the communities which we serve. In particular the Faculty of Computing Health and Science uses industry based Consultative Committees and industry partner relationships as a base for curriculum development designed to make the graduate outcomes relevant and current. This megafaculty covers a wide range of disciplines including: engineering, mathematics, aviation, computing, psychology, sports science, occupational therapy, nutrition, biomedical science, environmental science, physics, security, social science, nursing and midwifery, paramedical science, micro and nanophotonics.

This paper provides industry partnership involvement examples in a range of discipline areas including nursing, other health disciplines , engineering, security, motorsports and the environment. The influence and contribution of the various partners involve varies considerably and includes both research and teaching outcomes. The outcome of the particular industry relationship and the factors which determined these outcomes are examined indicating the benefits to both parties.
Major factors for course development success included the demonstrated need for graduates from a particular course and the currency and relevancy of the curriculum. External influences from Industry partners played a role in curriculum design and associated development of educational outcomes and required student attributes. In equipment and resource intensive areas this influence had an impact on the planning process and development schedule. In one case the planning horizon approximated 2 years.
The industry based research partnerships tend to be specific and focused according to specific needs. Consequently the start up time tends to be shorter than the process of curriculum development. There is also considerable pressure on completion periods for research outcomes. In general a greater level of interaction was experienced in the industry partner research activities.
The overall experience resulted in a number of positive outcomes. The University has experienced a growing profile in its various communities and this instance those involving health and industry based activities. As well student demand has increased in keeping with the increased range of new courses on offer.
In the five years the industry engagement model has been operating in the faculty the research profile has grown to the point where the faculty has 65-70 percent of the total university research output. The majority of the research output is applied in nature and involves an industry partner providing benefits to both parties through shared staffing expertise.