1-Minute Survey | Faculty Sabbaticals in Industry
A number of companies offer formal programs for university faculty to spend a summer sabbatical at a company site. Benefits of these programs include bringing a fresh perspective to solve research challenges, the prospect of joint publication, enhanced understanding of research translation, and strengthening university-industry research partnerships overall. Download the full results here.
The survey was in the field for one week and received 28 responses. Of those respondents, 11% said they have dedicated summer sabbatical programs hosting researchers, while 25% chose “Other.”
In the “Other” category, respondents specified that they either:
- have a sabbatical program that is not tied to summer specifically,
- do not have a formalized program but do host researchers on a case-by-case basis, or
- have a program comparable to a summer sabbatical.
Among the companies that did have faculty sabbatical programs, a third indicated that they directly pay the faculty member as an employee. All other respondents (67%) indicated that they compensated participants in a combination of ways, including as an employee, as a contractor, or by paying the university to pay the faculty.
Among those responded with a faculty salary range, most said it is relatively low. Two-thirds (67%) indicated that the compensation is less than $10,000 a month, with the remaining respondents (33%) reporting that compensation was between $10,000 and $12,000 a month. Additionally, a third of the surveyed industry representatives indicated that any additional participating faculty benefits were tied to the faculty seniority/salary. Another third stated that the faculty had the same benefits as employees, and the remaining were unsure of any benefits for participating faculty.
