ne of the University of New Hampshire’s four strategic priorities is “Embrace NH,” which includes building collaborations that support the state’s economy. As a business school at a public, land-grant university it is central to our mission to partner with businesses and non-profit and governmental organizations in New Hampshire and beyond to share research, knowledge, and skills to enrich society and enhance organizational success.

These partnerships are woven through Paul College and not only benefit our business partners, but they also provide experience-based learning and research opportunities for our students and faculty. Collaboration drives innovation to solve complex problems. It helps us better understand the challenges faced by businesses in the state and region and help them navigate through and adjust. It also informs adaptation of our curriculum and programs to better prepare our students, as well as our faculty and staff, to tackle real-world challenges.

A most important outcome of industry and university collaboration is that it helps create a more skilled workforce and lets businesses “test drive” our students by putting them to work on projects that have real impact. Students, in turn, get to test drive different industries, which helps them find their passion. These connections often result in the hiring of students for internships and jobs.

In this Paul Post we share some of the powerful ways we are engaging with New Hampshire and regional businesses, enabling us to make positive contributions to the economy and well as to our students’ educational experience.