In engineering fields practical work and experience have always preceded theory. Theory leads to further better understanding of the system , improvements , efficiency, reliability and economics of engineering applications and products. For a student theory and practical must go hand in hand for the student to become a good professional engineer. Of course there is urgent need of a good teacher who also has excellent practical experience to teach

There is a very famous saying that importance and usefulness of engineering education and research is inversely proportional to its distance from industry and practical application.. 

Well, I would say these two terms are equally important for any Engineering student. If you are strong in theory, it motivates you to work for something innovative experiment or basic practical stuffs. I would say the relation that Engineering holds with science, the same holds good for theory and practical too.