From university term papers to industry technical reports — An attempt to bridge the existing gap

The authors investigate the reasons for the existing university-industry written communication gap and suggest ways for bridging it. Most university programs do not adequately help students with technical communications. Consequently, the new engineer, when hired, will have the burden of overcoming the gap of technical writing apart from other important engineering tasks. Industry and university should cooperate in helping new engineers with this important facet of their careers. A first action could be to supplement the college-level curriculum with courses on technical writing, documentation, editing, and the use of new communication systems based on real industry requirements. These courses, which could be continued in industry in the form of seminars, help from senior peers, and the publication department, along with personal efforts, would enable young engineers to comprehend the basic principles that help in writing effective reports and proposals in the real engineering world.