ABSTRACT
Universities are in this knowledge business. Higher education is increasingly recognising the external forces that limit the life of so much knowledge and drive an ever-increasing pace of change. Work for The Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE) look to higher education not only to develop the powers of the mind, impart basic subject knowledge and skills and develop high level transformative skills, but also give students exposure to the way business operates. CIHE's subsidiary, the government-funded National Centre for Work Experience (NCWE), has suggested the criteria that should govern best practice in work experience in a compact between academia, organisation and students. The chapter addresses the issue as to what business expects from a compact for higher education ends up with some impossible wish list; like a job advert that lists the attributes of some superhuman being. The concept of a compact between higher education and other stakeholders is central to the achievement of knowledge business aims.
