Examining student views on university–industry cooperation: The case of the "Sektör Kampüste" Programme

Today, universities are not only institutions that transfer and produce knowledge, but also institutions that contribute to industry, technology and society. In this framework, the issue of university-industry cooperation is of strategic importance in training skilled labour force and thus supporting economic development and investigating the effects of this cooperation on students will contribute to more efficient management of related processes. Based on this reality, this thesis aims to evaluate the Sektör Kampüste Programme, which is carried out by the Ministry of Industry and Technology, in terms of vocational and career development with a focus on student opinions. The theoretical basis of the research is based on the historical development and importance of university-industry cooperation and its practices in Turkey and this phenomenon is addressed especially in the context of vocational and technical education. The research was conducted within the framework of case study, one of the qualitative research designs, and structured interviews were conducted with 58 participants who participated in the research on a voluntary basis. The interview data were subjected to content analysis and the data obtained were discussed under the headings of professional and career development. In the interviews, the participants stated that the programme provided important contributions in terms of obtaining information about the sector, increasing theoretical knowledge, following current developments in the sector and establishing direct communication with the business world. As a matter of fact, while the participants stated that they had the opportunity to benefit from the experiences of sector representatives and developed more realistic expectations for business life with the programme, some participants pointed out that there were negativities arising from the insufficient duration of the courses, problems in communication and the fact that the courses were not held face-to-face. However, the data obtained from the interviews reveal that the programme is not effective enough in terms of career development, especially in terms of providing internship opportunities. Although the participants stated that the Sektör Kampüste Programme was effective in guiding their career planning processes and contributed to gaining ideas about which areas they could specialise in the future, the feedback obtained from the interviews in the field of career development shows that the programme needs improvement in career development. In line with the data obtained as a result of the research, it is recommended that the courses should be regularised, technical trips should be increased, communication opportunities with sector representatives should be improved, and the education and training competencies of the sector representatives participating in the courses as instructors should be improved in order to eliminate some structural and practical deficiencies. The results of the research reveal that the continuous improvement and updating of the Sektör Kampüste Programme, which is implemented on a national scale in Turkey, in line with the opinions and suggestions of stakeholders will be effective in achieving the targeted gains and providing the maximum expected benefit from the programme. Keywords: Vocational and technical education, university-sector cooperation, sector