Practice 03

Building the bridge between a campus and a plant floor.

Universities have talent and no pipeline into industry. Employers have openings and no route onto campus. This practice builds the connective tissue : partnerships, programs, and the pipelines that outlast the people who started them.

What we do

Where the connecting happens.

Most of it is translation. Universities and employers want the same outcome and speak entirely different languages about it.

  • University partnershipsStructuring agreements that survive a change in leadership.
  • Workforce developmentMatching curriculum to the roles a region is actually hiring for.
  • Industry-academic collaborationResearch, sponsorship, and shared facilities.
  • Experiential learning programsCo-ops, practicums, and studio courses with real clients.
  • Talent pipelinesA repeatable path from enrollment to offer letter.
  • Innovation ecosystemsThe incubators, competitions, and networks that keep founders local.

In practice

Rochester Christian University and Mayco International.

Work connecting a Michigan university with a Tier‑1 automotive supplier. That is the template for what this practice does.

Rochester Christian University

Rochester Hills, Michigan. Roughly 1,260 students drawn from 21 states and 21 nations, across six schools and about 49 degree and certificate programs.

Mayco International

Sterling Heights, Michigan. A Tier‑1 automotive supplier producing interior and exterior modules for programs with manufacturers including Stellantis and Toyota.

What this looks like

Three recurring engagements.

Manufacturers & universities

Introducing an employer to a department that is already teaching what it needs, then formalizing it into something both sides sign.

Internship programs

Designing the intake, the supervision, and the conversion path — so an internship becomes hiring, not goodwill.

Entrepreneurship ecosystems

Competitions, mentor networks, and early capital pathways that give a graduate a reason to build the company here.

Next step

If you are trying to build a pipeline.

University partnerships, workforce programs, or an innovation ecosystem — we build the connection and the agreement behind it.