USU Launches Building Together Series to Strengthen Faculty Industry Collaboration

LOGAN, Utah — Utah State University's Office of Research will launch its Building Together series with an Industry Relations Workshop from noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 15 in room 205/207 of the Eccles Conference Center.

The Building Together series is designed to help USU faculty develop the strategies, skills, and connections needed to work effectively with industry. The kickoff workshop focuses on skills and strategies for academic-industry relations, with examples from USU of how academic expertise and industry needs can lead to collaborative research, commercialization, and broader impact.

"With the changing federal funding landscape putting an increased emphasis on industry involvement in research projects, understanding how to develop effective collaborative relationships is vital to remaining competitive,” said Jeri Hansen, executive director of research innovation and impact at USU.

The Industry Relations Workshop will introduce faculty to the different ways universities and companies can work together, including sponsored research, consulting, licensing, and collaborative research. Workshop speakers and panelists from USU will offer guidance on identifying industry needs, communicating the value of academic research, and developing productive, long-term partnerships.

Sessions will address why industry engagement matters; pathways for working with industry; identifying and defining industry problems through market research; intellectual property considerations when working with industry; and case studies of successful academic-industry collaborations.

"Faculty do not need previous industry collaboration experience to attend the workshop," Hansen said. "The information provided during the workshop will benefit faculty new to industry relationships as well as those with previous industry collaboration experience."

Hannah Feinsilber, a doctoral candidate in biochemistry at USU and previous business development and marketing specialist with Technology Transfer Services, developed and organized the workshop. Feinsilber created the program to help faculty better understand how to identify, initiate, and sustain relationships with industry partners.

The Building Together: Industry Relations Workshop will provide the foundation for topic-specific Building Together events throughout the 2026-27 academic year. These follow-on events will give faculty and companies opportunities to have direct conversations about research capabilities, technologies, facilities, services, and innovation needs.

"The goal of the Building Together workshop and event series is to help faculty develop new research relationships that will enable them to increase the impact of their work and remain competitive in today’s external funding landscape," Hansen said.

The Oct. 15 workshop is free, but space is limited. Faculty can learn more and register at research.usu.edu/rii/external-research-partnerships/building-together.

The USU Research Innovation & Impact (RII) division, housed within the Office of Research, helps grow ideas into real-world impact through a holistic, hands-on approach to supporting research through every stage of its journey. The three core teams — Research Development, External Research Partnerships, and Technology Transfer Services — work together to help faculty find funding, craft competitive proposals, build meaningful collaborations with external partners, and bring innovations to society. RII works to strengthen USU’s research capacity, connect expertise with opportunity, and help research make a difference that reaches far beyond campus.