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letters</h2><p id="5287">Departments and research centers are producing e-newsletters to share news, insights, events, and project updates with subscribers. (<a href="https://theconversation.com/global">The Conversation</a> produces popular e-newsletters, these aren’t affiliated with a specific university but provide access to articles authored by university researchers.)</p><h2 id="7459">3. Podcasts</h2><p id="552e">Universities, departments, centers, and individual professors are producing a range of podcasts. For example, the University of Melbourne’s ‘Eavesdrop on Experts’ offers interviews with experts from the university’s broad research spectrum, ‘Asia Rising’ by LaTrobe Asia has a more specific theme, and Stephen Parker’s ‘Talking Tertiary’ focuses on sector-wide matters.</p><h2 id="7d2f">4. Friends and associates</h2><p id="3765">Reconnect with friends and associates who are working in the university sector e.g. professors, research fellows, or students. Initiate conversations to learn first-hand about their skills and projects, other work in the university, and the culture and climate.</p><h2 id="d60c">5. A new online network</h2><p id="1a40">Be proactive and make new connections with professors, staff, and students through online platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter.</p><h2 id="ed0b">6. Alumni activities</h2><p id="0610">Reconnect with your alma mater by joining the alumni association. Aim to not only attend events (in-person and online) but to actively participate and interact with fellow attendees. This can help grow your network and provide opportunities to learn about current research and education projects. Some alumni associations still primarily focus on soliciting financial donations; however, others are keen to engage alumni in other ways such as mentoring and volunteering.</p><h2 id="f4af">7. University-organised events</h2><p id="2f33">Attend events hosted by universities, including events in disciplines and on topics you wouldn’t normally consider. Subscribing to e-newsletters should guarantee a steady flow of event invitations.</p><h2 id="2078">8. The campus</h2><p id="8c50">For a taste of campus life and some experiential learning, take a walk through your local university campus and have lunch amongst the students. Many campuses offer organized tours and it

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may be possible to arrange a private tour of a specific department or facility upon request. If an in-person visit isn’t feasible, try a virtual one instead (e.g. <a href="https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/what-and-where-study/open-days-and-events/virtual-tours#W">UK university virtual tours</a>).</p><h2 id="3436">Integrate these practices into your routine to keep updated.</h2><p id="501b">There’s a continual shift in university projects, expertise and opportunities so it’s worthwhile keeping up to date with changes and initiatives. <b>Consider integrating at least some, if not all, of these items into your regular calendar of learning activities and information sources. </b>Take advantage of ICT too and explore universities and professors at distant geographic locations. The experts and knowledge most relevant for your needs may be in a different city, country, or on another continent.</p><p id="227e"><b>Proactively gathering new information about universities, their people, resources, and capabilities can provide immediate benefit in the form of new knowledge.</b></p><p id="f856">That knowledge will be more valuable when it’s used to create tangible outcomes — for the business and/or for the university — which are <a href="https://medium.com/@kristen.sadler.18/rethinking-business-strategy-link-with-a-university-for-new-ideas-knowledge-resources-1a005b3f37f1?sk=abbb74f41656b61cec818fb78b7eddd9">covered in another article</a>. For example, <a href="https://medium.com/@kristen.sadler.18/phd-graduates-bring-critical-thinking-to-the-ceos-expert-network-5269a8b3088f">professors can be engaged as professional critical thinkers and subject matter experts</a>, collaboration opportunities spring from conversations with university researchers, and executives can contribute their expertise to further university missions.</p><p id="9927">Every situation is unique, so use these pointers as a general guide and contact me for independent advice and support for your specific circumstances.</p><p id="770b"><a href="https://kristensadler.com"><i>Kristen Sadler, Ph.D.</i></a><i> is an independent advisor, speaker, and author. She uses futures thinking and strategic foresight to explore possible, probable, and preferable futures and how to take action today to shape tomorrow.</i></p></article></body>

8 Ways to Find Out Who’s Doing What on Campus

Here are 8 ways executives can broaden their expert networks and info sources by tapping into universities.

Connecting with university professors, staff and students can help executives build more sustainable and impactful businesses. Learning about what’s happening in a university can yield valuable knowledge, create new expert connections, lead to partnerships, and surface business-to-university (B2U) opportunities.

To jump-start your foray into becoming acquainted with today’s university environment I’ve compiled this list of eight information sources. Consider these as starting points to facilitate your introduction to who’s doing what on campus. The majority of these sources are accessible to anyone, regardless of previous interactions with a university. They are also actionable at an individual and personal level so getting started should not require organizational resources.

These sources are useful for collecting general information about any university and building a foundation of knowledge about the:

mission, vision, and strategy (the ‘why’)
people and their skills, abilities, and expertise (the ‘who’)
work being performed in research, teaching, outreach (the ‘what’)
resources e.g. infrastructure, equipment (the ‘how’)

1. Websites

Perhaps the most obvious and convenient starting point is a university website. Learn about the mission, vision, and strategic plan (many have 5-year plans, some have 10-year plans). Explore the specialized themes, research institutes, and centers. Visit the departmental websites and scan the profiles of individual professors to learn about their areas of expertise.

2. E-newsletters

Departments and research centers are producing e-newsletters to share news, insights, events, and project updates with subscribers. (The Conversation produces popular e-newsletters, these aren’t affiliated with a specific university but provide access to articles authored by university researchers.)

3. Podcasts

Universities, departments, centers, and individual professors are producing a range of podcasts. For example, the University of Melbourne’s ‘Eavesdrop on Experts’ offers interviews with experts from the university’s broad research spectrum, ‘Asia Rising’ by LaTrobe Asia has a more specific theme, and Stephen Parker’s ‘Talking Tertiary’ focuses on sector-wide matters.

4. Friends and associates

Reconnect with friends and associates who are working in the university sector e.g. professors, research fellows, or students. Initiate conversations to learn first-hand about their skills and projects, other work in the university, and the culture and climate.

5. A new online network

Be proactive and make new connections with professors, staff, and students through online platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter.

6. Alumni activities

Reconnect with your alma mater by joining the alumni association. Aim to not only attend events (in-person and online) but to actively participate and interact with fellow attendees. This can help grow your network and provide opportunities to learn about current research and education projects. Some alumni associations still primarily focus on soliciting financial donations; however, others are keen to engage alumni in other ways such as mentoring and volunteering.

7. University-organised events

Attend events hosted by universities, including events in disciplines and on topics you wouldn’t normally consider. Subscribing to e-newsletters should guarantee a steady flow of event invitations.

8. The campus

For a taste of campus life and some experiential learning, take a walk through your local university campus and have lunch amongst the students. Many campuses offer organized tours and it may be possible to arrange a private tour of a specific department or facility upon request. If an in-person visit isn’t feasible, try a virtual one instead (e.g. UK university virtual tours).

Integrate these practices into your routine to keep updated.

There’s a continual shift in university projects, expertise and opportunities so it’s worthwhile keeping up to date with changes and initiatives. Consider integrating at least some, if not all, of these items into your regular calendar of learning activities and information sources. Take advantage of ICT too and explore universities and professors at distant geographic locations. The experts and knowledge most relevant for your needs may be in a different city, country, or on another continent.

Proactively gathering new information about universities, their people, resources, and capabilities can provide immediate benefit in the form of new knowledge.

That knowledge will be more valuable when it’s used to create tangible outcomes — for the business and/or for the university — which are covered in another article. For example, professors can be engaged as professional critical thinkers and subject matter experts, collaboration opportunities spring from conversations with university researchers, and executives can contribute their expertise to further university missions.

Every situation is unique, so use these pointers as a general guide and contact me for independent advice and support for your specific circumstances.

Kristen Sadler, Ph.D. is an independent advisor, speaker, and author. She uses futures thinking and strategic foresight to explore possible, probable, and preferable futures and how to take action today to shape tomorrow.