IAB Terms of Reference

Industry Advisory Board (IAB) - Terms of Reference

The IAB meets three times a year, with meetings typically in January, May and September. Attendees include Industry members, the Head of School, Industry Liaison Officer, Student Representative/s and relevant staff.

Aims of the IAB

The IAB exists to advise and guide the School of Computer Science on the industry relevance of teaching, knowledge exchange and research activities, including:

• advising on the industry relevance of undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum, including suggesting updates to modules, potential new modules or courses and proposing/supporting dissertation projects
• supporting, promoting and proposing opportunities for knowledge exchange and commercialisation/spinouts from an industry perspective
• supporting research through publicising success and engaging with relevant research groups
• identifying opportunities and potential areas of concern, both in the short and long term, where industry change could affect the activities of the School

Industry Members

Membership is by invitation and members may be proposed by current members and Staff within the School.  Proposed members will usually be invited as an in person guest to an IAB meeting so they can better discover whether they wish to join the IAB.  Members are appointed for an initial four year term.  Members will either be in current employment or leadership within a relevant industry sector or have expertise within an appropriate area.

IAB Industry members are expected, during a four year term, to:

• Attend at least one IAB meeting a year, preferably in person (a remote option is available)
• advise and guide the School in the Aims of the IAB (as described above)
• engage in one (or more) of the following activities:
  • giving a ‘talk from industry’ to students, possibly for a specific module, and/or to the School
  • proposing dissertation topic/area and acting as an industry mentor for an undergraduate or postgraduate dissertation (note that this is not supervision - an academic will act always act as supervisor)
  • engaging with one (or more) identified research groups to offer support that may include letters of support, partnering with proposed funding/internships or supplying an industry perspective at research meetings/seminars
  • acting as an independent judge for events such as the Sheffield Startup Summer

The overall membership will, where possible, match the diversity in the School as well as represent industry at the local and national level.