Dear Jerry James Nuako ,

Although I am not a Ceramics-field professional, and I am not aware of the area itself, what I can comment on your question is that normally the industry has specific needs that might not be addressed by the people working in academic environments. That is the main reason why it is important a good relationship between both environments. It seems that the academia has the knowledge and capabilities to push the boundaries of knowledge, so it can address the problems that industry faces and find solutions for those problems in a very efficient way. If this relationship is not encouraged, then academia remains researching on fields that are not related to the development or are too far away from what society requires. These requirements are normally better known by the industries.

I do believe that it is important to develop knowledge and push the boundaries (academia roles) but also to find practical solutions to day-to-day problems (industry roles), everything with the aim of enhancing our daily life. So, answering to your questions, during higher education I think it is important to have both views and to understand the importance of their relation.

Dear Jerry,

More than important, it is essential to have collaboration between academia and industry, for several reasons, and the case of ceramics is a great example:

- Firstly, the academy needs to be aware of the issues and problems that the industry wants to see resolved, in order to guide investigations in that direction.

- Precisely because of the lack of interaction, sometimes the questions that academia investigates are not the most relevant for the industry of a particular country or region.

- in the case of ceramics, which has evolved very quickly in the last decade or two, it is essential to be aware of new techniques and raw materials requirements from the industry, knowledge that is often outdated by academia.

- The technical vocabulary used by industry and academia is often different.

-Finally, and in particular in the case of ceramics, which deals with very complex raw materials such as clays, it is necessary to understand and relate the entire process from extraction to transformation, without forgetting the economic component, and to reach this, the collaboration is essential.

how industry player-led colloquiums could enrich educational experience in higher institutions?

I'd try from ceramics perspective.

The needs of industry explained in front of academia, the faculty can rearrange syllabus for local needs, the students can come across real-life experiences (like stories about how to handle a furnace or consider supply chain issues to keep production going) that reduce some 'culture shock' of students when they transit from university to factory life.

Students can get idea of what research would be more suitable for industry within local economic constrainsts, that would foster trans-disciplinary approach to learning, student-and-teacher developed research would be more amenable to be tuned to the need of industry, that can bring R&D fundings of industry to university, that can improve teaching, learning and lab experience.

In my home country Bangladesh, incorporating anti-microbial nanoparticles in bathroom tiles for cleanliness is one such commercialization example. I myself have seen using Electric arc furnace slag as a raw material substituent for ceramic-making researched in my deparment. Heavy thermodynamic and phase-diagram computational modelling was there; and one the suitable % of substituents found, the information sent to ceramic industry would cause them significant raw material import cost, and as a token of gratitude, earn my department (and the student, also the teacher supervising the research) a hefty sum of honorium!