On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced that it’s funding a pilot program to test a new strategy: Giving Ph.D. students industry experience — and dollars — as part of their training. The program is creating four-year Ph.D. programs that are jointly bankrolled by universities and industry partners, with additional support from the National Science Foundation. “I think more industry research in Ph.D. programs is a good thing,” said Donna Ginther, a labor economist at the University of Kansas who studies the scientific workforce. The pilot program was first reported by the media company Pirate Wires. In 2010, 25% of life science Ph.D. graduates with a job lined up were headed to industry, while 49% went on to work in academia, according to NSF data.