Relevance and alignment of Real-Client Real-Project courses via technology transfer

It is often claimed Real-Client Real-Project (RCRP) courses are important providers of industry relevant experience and skills to students. How do we know this is so? We cannot prove this or improve RCRP industry relevance without tangible evidence. Here we suggest that the degree an industry partner is willing to accept technology transfer for technologies used within an RCRP course is a strong indicator of relevance. There must be common challenges between RCRP and industry software development for which technology proven in the classroom will also be relevant in industry. We describe our experiences with using an RCRP parallel to the TAME technology transfer model to assess the degree of willingness for technology transfer facilitated by technology use in RCRP courses. We find benefits from realizing envisaged synergies between software engineering research, education, and technology transfer to industry. We further note how the willingness for technology transfer indicator is useful for aligning software engineering courses for industry relevance.