Public-private partnerships create better students, Clemson official tells auto summit

Published: September 27, 2011

John Kelly, Clemson University vice president for economic development, adddresses the Automotive Transatlantic Summit Tuesday. image by: Patrick Wright

GREENVILLE — After reversing a trend that saw two out of three high school students attend college outside South Carolina, Clemson University is focused on retaining the state’s homegrown talent after graduation.

John Kelly, Clemson University vice president for economic development, told the Automotive Transatlantic Summit Tuesday that the university’s track record of successful collaborations with private industry has helped keep the best and the brightest students in the Palmetto State.

By engaging with industry, today’s students have an opportunity to showcase their talents to prospective employers, and provide the state’s broad industrial sectors the skills they need thrive, Kelly said.

If Clemson does not help provide a talent pool, these companies will struggle to innovate and be competitive in the marketplace, he said. By fostering public-private partnerships, Clemson can develop the workforce of the future.

“Our faculty are better faculty when they interact with the private sector,” Kelly said. “They are better teachers when they interact with the private sector. And they produce better students when they interact with the private sector.”

Political and industry leaders visited the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) Monday and Tuesday to discuss competitiveness, economic development and the global auto industry’s future.

The auto summit is hosted by CU-ICAR and the Automotive Intelligence Center (AIC) of Bilbao, Spain.

The conference examines smart innovation processes, new trends in mobility and the implications for vehicle manufacturers and suppliers. Attending were a mix of international experts in the automotive field addressing critical areas in American and European automotive competition.

Speaking Monday afternoon at the summit, S.C. Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt said that CU-ICAR and research universities have a key role to play in economic and workforce development in South Carolina.

The state is very manufacturing-oriented and has been throughout its history, most notably for its textile manufacturing. But the growth of the state’s automotive industry, and more recently the emergence of the aviation industry, means there is a new age of manufacturers in the state.

In 1992, about 20,000 people worked in the state’s auto industry. Today, that number has risen to more than 90,000. The aviation industry is sure to follow a similar path, he said.

“This is not out father’s or grandfather’s manufacturing,” Hitt said. “This is a whole new world.”

Along the way, research universities like Clemson will play a central role in economic and workforce development to help provide the skilled labor these new industries need.

These future engineers and technicians represent the state’s new economy, he said, and the talent pool is here.

“A lot of people think there’s a renaissance in manufacturing, and that South Carolina is one of the places where’s it going to play out,” Hitt said. “I agree with that.”

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