Why talent siphoning from universities is a good thing

I was asked the other day how I felt about tech companies “poaching” talent from top universities.

The question came as a reaction to the news that Apple had recently hired Virginia Tech computer science professor Doug Bowman, who is an authority on Virtual Reality.

Two well-worn adages jumped to mind as I thought through the answer; one I agree with, the second I do not – but both have bearing on the conversation. 

There has been a lot of talk over the past year about the relationship between academia and the tech sector. When Uber hired away 40 researchers and engineers from Carnegie Mellon’s National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) for the company’s new Pittsburgh-based tech center, it was a huge blow. According to a Wall Street Journal piece on the subject, NREC stands to lose as much as $13 million in contract work as a result of the departures.

However, this instance of talent siphoning should be viewed as the exception, not the rule – both academia and the private tech sector stand to win from a more fluid, porous relationship.

Which brings me to that first adage:

“If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, it’s yours.”

While academic institutions might not have much choice in the matter when exciting lucrative opportunities knock on its faculty’s doors, it should be viewed as a long-term potential gain rather than a short-term loss. A great many professors hold a passion for teaching and research, and while they might be enticed to explore groundbreaking opportunities in the private sector, there is a high probability that they will eventually make their way back to the very same academic institutions.

And that’s where the real opportunity lies for universities. Upon their return to academia, professors won’t be able to pass along the IP they developed while away, but that won’t matter. The programs, processes, and problems (of the real-world kind) learned from those experiences pushing the envelope in tech and the iterative and creative entrepreneurial spirit can then be passed on to their students, who will pick up the mantle upon graduation. Better relationships created with corporations also open up new funding and collaboration opportunities at universities.

And that takes us to the second adage:

“Those who CAN, DO. Those who CAN’T, TEACH.”

This is simply nonsense. The Professor Bowmans of the world CAN do, HAVE done, and are CONTINUING to do – as companies like Apple have noticed. Clearly, the work done within academia holds great value for the private sector.

This ability to do, make, and create will always keep professors and academic researchers high on the list of recruits for innovative companies. Academia offers an unparalleled environment for focused research and a catalyst for new ideas and ways of thinking. Our teachers and researchers ARE doers, and that is what makes them so attractive to companies.

Universities can also create educational opportunities while these experts are engaged in private sector pursuits. Top developers from leading companies frequently guest lecture on college campuses. Moreover, online content more easily enables knowledge sharing. Online videos, like those from TED Talks, offer the latest insights from the tech world. And experts from within leading organizations like Microsoft and the Linux Foundation regularly help develop online classes to teach specific skillsets and languages. Furthermore, industry experts frequently move to academia, so it is not always a one-way street.

The advantages are not mere speculation: I’m personally familiar with the benefits of a fluid, porous relationship between universities and the private sector. As someone who has been both a faculty member at MIT and a company founder, I can tell you that there is an incredible symbiosis at play here, and we should think of it as more of a continual cycle than just periodic trading between institutions and organizations. Academia allows its professors to explore and develop new ideas. The tech sector offers them creative opportunities to implement those ideas and accomplish the “last mile” of research. And creators moving from tech into academia can then share all this valuable experience with the next generation, inspiring further innovation.

#EdInsights 

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