Kent Foster

Director of University Relations, Microsoft

Kent Foster is the Director of University Relations at Microsoft where he manages overall institutional engagements with UBC. His career spans over thirty years of diverse management experience in academic research, international product marketing and business development, strategy & planning, entrepreneurship, and operations at Microsoft, Apple, the School of Information and the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan, NeXT Computer, and Digital Equipment Corporation. Kent holds dual degrees from the University of Michigan – an MPP in Public Policy and International Trade at the Ford School and a BA in Chinese Area Studies at the Far Eastern Languages and Literature program. He currently resides in Redmond, WA.

Panelist at the conference

Thursday, September 30, 10:05-10:50 am PST

Industry-Academia Collaboration Opportunities, Challenges, and Tips

While industry and academia generally focus on different outputs, countless businesses/non-profits and university researchers in many fields have benefited from working together. Industry can help academia in their work to advance scientific knowledge. Academia can help industry better understand a field or problem, and seed advances in product/service innovation. In the relatively newer field of UX/HCI, such collaborations are emerging but are not very common. How can our design community better leverage this potential synergy?

In this panel, academic researchers and industry professionals will discuss their experiences, highlighting collaboration opportunities, common challenges, and ideas for making the most of the collaboration.

Key Takeaways

Potential benefits from academic researchers (in HCI and other design-related areas) and industry collaborations
Expected challenges to watch out for
Tips on starting and fostering a good collaboration

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