Corporate Member Representatives Vision Statement - Industry / Government Viewpoint

This vision statement was constructed under the leadership of Bruce Rodda,Schering-Plough Research Institute, with the aid of many colleagues.

Statisticians beginning careers in an industrial setting often have difficulty in adapting to the dramatic change from the academic to the industrial environment. At the time the new employee enters their company, they may have spent as much as 20 years in an academic environment and are often unaware of the expectations and opportunities in an industrial setting. Although they may have excellent theoretical and technical skills, many find that these alone will not suffice for an opportunity-rich and professionally satisfying career.

Many statisticians arriving in industry view themselves as technicians and analysts whose primary role is to support the work of other disciplines. Although these technical functions are extremely important, acceptance of them as long-term career goals reduces the magnitude of the contributions statisticians can make and will also limit their career opportunities. This limitation minimizes the impact that statistics can have since statisticians at higher positions in organizations can, in general, have a much greater strategic influence than those in lower level (primarily technical) positions.

Academia and industry have very similar values. Industrial statisticians clearly know and value the academic interest in theory and research, whereas the academic may view the real world use of statistics in the industrial setting as a productive consequence of statistical research and education. Thus, the complete education of statistician is shared responsibility between academia and industry. Historically, the primary source of theoretical training for the industrial statistician has been in their formal academic training. In contrast, the practical utilization of this training through real world problems has been acquired in the on-the-job setting.

The basic education which students receive prior to graduation should include both the excellent technical training which they now receive and an even greater exposure to a broad variety of practical problems. In addition, an understanding of the industrial environment and career opportunities will be very beneficial in providing students the broadest of options for their career choices. This broader background would allow graduates the opportunity to choose any of a number of areas of statistical application and possess the fundamental scientific and leadership skills to function as principals in their organization.

A survey of several corporate member representatives of the American Statistical Association resulted in a number of suggestions to achieve this objective. These can be broadly categorized into two areas:

1) Broader understanding of the needs, opportunities, and environments in which statisticians work in an industrial setting.

• There needs to be an appreciation for teams, organization, society, and their relationships and dynamics.
• Statisticians must understand and appreciate the complete research process.
• Statisticians must understand the expectations of industry and have the training to meet those expectations.
• Statisticians should be interested in the total problem, not just the statistical part.
• Statisticians should have a global view of research effort and have a systems approach to research.
• Statisticians must expand their skills beyond statistics to include those of a successful consultant (e.g. communication, negotiation, project management).
• Statisticians must be integral to the project and participate to its conclusion.

2) More formal associations between academia and industry which demand a true collaborative approach to the education of both students and continuing education.

• Industrial seminar series at universities should occur regularly.
• Faculty/industry personnel exchange should occur regularly.
• Faculty sabbaticals in industry should occur regularly.
• Industrial advisory committees at universities should be common.
• Adjunct faculty appointments of industrial statisticians should be more frequent and routine.
• Formal training/requirements in writing and presentations skills should be established.
• Cooperative research endeavors should be developed.
• The availability and content of continuing education programs should be broadened.
• A syllabus of both statistical and essential non-statistical skills required by industry statisticians should be developed and issued under the aegis of ASA.
• Academia needs to have a formal mechanism for understanding and anticipating the needs of industry and government.
• Faculty must have a genuine interest in working on the projects arising in industry. This is key-and is necessary, but not sufficient.
• Good professional interaction between faculty member(s) and one or more industrial researchers needs to be established.
• True success will require that both academia and industry gain more from the interaction than they can accomplish separately.
• Universities should routinely invite industry scientists and statisticians to give seminars on real problems and to play an important role in the education of new statisticians.

There is a very strong interest in the industrial community to contribute to the development and education of our students. The advantages which could be provided by a more intensive association between academia and industry would result in statisticians being readier to assume more effective technical positions in industry and provide a greater opportunity for statisticians to lead research efforts in the future.


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