Volume 5
Volume 5, Number 33 |
December 6, 2007 |
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Deborah F. Beard
Dana Schwieger
Ken Surendran
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Abstract: Academicians and employers are recognizing significant differences in the current generation of students – herein referred to as millennials- from those who have passed through their doors in the past. Although each generation of students has had their own unique characteristics shaped by events of the time period in which they grew up, this generation of students has been technologically-enabled and shaped by access to world and cultural events at the touch of a button. It is in the best interests of students, faculty, and employers that the characteristics of this generation be considered in determining the best way to shape their capabilities to maximize their learning, earning, and productivity potential. In this paper, the authors examine the characteristics of millennial students, extract from those characteristics a set of opportunities these characteristics offer and a set of threats they pose to the learning and career developmental processes. Strategies are then shared for enhancing learning and bridging the academic and industrial chasm. The authors conclude that collaborative efforts between educators and practitioners are required to educate the millennial students and to help build their professional careers.
Keywords: millennial learner, teaching strategies, career development
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Recommended Citation: Beard, Schwieger, and Surendran (2007). Bridging the Academic / Industrial Chasm for the Millennial Generation. Information Systems Education Journal, 5 (33). http://isedj.org/5/33/. ISSN: 1545-679X. (A preliminary version appears in The Proceedings of ISECON 2007: §3343. ISSN: 1542-7382.)