This study explores the usefulness of academic research to engineering practitioners. Issues such as knowledge transfer, the research-practice gap and the changing social/political environment are discussed. An empirical survey of practitioners is analysed to better understand the engineering professions use of academic material, such as research journals, with the medical profession acting as the benchmark. The study also examines the future role for academia from the perspective of practitioners, with areas such as engagement, relevance, dissemination and education highlighted. While the study found there was a reasonable level of utilisation of academic material, there are still some significant gaps. The study brings to the fore the issue of relevance in applied research fields and highlights the need to evaluate the usefulness of our research to practitioners and the betterment of society.