Glad ajko is at least attempting something. This is one of the meme's I've been posting on for years. I think the problem is different, though. So much wisdom and so many capabilities are in papers, sometimes software, created in academia. However, nobody knows they exist. Coursework isn't the reason. The reason seems to be two-fold: (a) the main sources for all of it are pay-walled ACM and IEEE that professionals never use; (b) the non-paywalled links are scattered across the web in University sites instead of one or more central, organized sources for such information. These problems must be solved somehow because the opportunity cost is gigantic.

I try to get this info to people by pulling batches of papers, skimming them, finding the worthwhile stuff, and mentioning it in online forums or to specific people in projects. I have over 10,000 papers in my collection from ACM/IEEE that were organized at some point (sighs). Anyway, when a topic comes up, I can just search them and (surprise!) many modern problems have already been solved. People just aren't applying the solutions when they know about them and more often just don't know about them.

So, the second one was my idea. A resource, crowd or taxpayer-funded, that's essentially an organized encyclopedia of papers and software developed in academia pertitent to aspects of software development. It would start as a manual effort that pulls in the links and paper that represent the best of most topics. As it got buy-in, the professors might have their students categorize and submit their own stuff. I thought an invite-only forum for serendipidous discussion among people that know their shit (esp researchers, professors, industry vets) could also get ideas across. Might be a fee for all of this charged to users, universities, someone that's way cheaper than ACM/IEEE. Basically, enough to cover the servers, bandwidth, and at least one employee.

Ran it by Epstein at NSF. He thought it was a nice idea but wisely warned it might not take off at all without buy-in ahead of time. The buy-in would have to come from a ton of places, too. So, bootstrapping that might be tricky. Even worse, many people I talked to in academia indicate the people and organizations on that side don't care about practical things at all. The ones that do are an exception and the norm actually filters out that stuff in favor of publishing/citations.

Well, we could hit it from the other side. Closest thing I've seen from industry was Dr Dobbs with articles on Cleanroom, Design-by-Contract, etc. Many professionals read that and could get exposed to cutting-edge via practical treatments from a trusted source. Additionally, the likes of Microsoft, IBM, Google, and Facebook do the cutting-edge academia and practical stuff simultaneously while publishing some and deploying others. This brings attention to it. Some results at these companies got widely deployed and are standard fare today.

So, I'd say the easiest route is a hybrid between companies and the nonprofit concept. Anyone wanting to try it can look at the kind of stuff companies are working on. Package up the cutting-edge stuff for those things to make it the first deliverable of the site. Add in plenty of IT and INFOSEC stuff on top of that which has immediate value for them. Get those companies as members to sponsor the initial development. Simultaneously, try to get University groups on the bandwagon who operate in key areas of IT or INFOSEC where the research results need attention. For big ones, maybe let them pay to have a dedicate person doing nothing but pulling in and curating their research as a brand boost for them. The site/service should grow in both usage and material as businesses pull on it for info while Universities push theirs into it.

Outside an effort like this, I'm not sure how else we're going to bridge the gap between academia and industry in a major way.