  In 2015, the CCC co-sponsored an industry round table that produced the
document "The Future of Computing Research: Industry-Academic Collaborations".
Since then, several important trends in computing research have emerged, and
this document considers how those trends impact the interaction between
academia and industry in computing fields. We reach the following conclusions:
- In certain computing disciplines, such as currently artificial intelligence,
we observe significant increases in the level of interaction between professors
and companies, which take the form of extended joint appointments. -
Increasingly, companies are highly motivated to engage both professors and
graduate students working in specific technical areas because companies view
computing research and technical talent as a core aspect of their business
success. - There is also the further potential for principles and values from
the academy (e.g., ethics, human-centered approaches, etc.) informing products
and R&D roadmaps in new ways through these unique joint arrangements. - This
increasing connection between faculty, students, and companies has the
potential to change (either positively or negatively) numerous things,
including: the academic culture in computing research universities, the
research topics that faculty and students pursue, the ability of universities
to train undergraduate and graduate students, etc. This report is the first
step in engaging the broader computing research community, raising awareness of
the opportunities, complexities and challenges of this trend but further work
is required. We recommend follow-up to measure the degree and impact of this
trend and to establish best practices that are shared widely among computing
research institutions.
