| dc.description.abstract | There is an emerging consensus in the literature that increased university-industry interactions are not only possible, but also desirable. The awareness of the importance of the university-industry interaction phenomenon has been realized by policy makers and academics in Africa as one way of revitalizing the required pace of industrialization. In Kenya, for example there are various interactions between universities and industry through individual staff members being involved in industry or through faculty- and department-based consultancies. However, despite the efforts in enhancing university industry linkages there has been widespread concern that a lot of the research carried out in universities and public institutions in Kenya, as in many other countries in Africa, does not address the real needs of the industrial sector, and the results therefore remain largely not utilized. So far there is no systematic empirical studies undertaken to understand and inform on the content and results of the interactions, in the context of African countries. This thesis is an attempt to fill that gap.
This study extends the current understanding on the subject of university-industry interactions by examining and analyzing the factors affecting the strength or weakness of the interactions between academic research in Kenyan universities and the transfer of resulting findings to the industrial sector. The study contends that university-industry interactions in the 'area of science and technology have been difficult to initiate and sustain not only due to the inadequacies of the universities and firms, but particularly because of the lack of support from the larger macroeconomic environment.
The conclusion of the study is that, owing to the weak performance of the industrial sector, the university system in Kenya should have a more broadly defined mission than in developed and in some of the newly industrialised countries which have emphasized the dissemination of laboratory research results. It will be a misconception to expect the university to undertake R&D efforts aimed at contributing to the transfer, adaptation and diffusions of technologies as part of its overall objectives. This does not mean to say that university-industry interactions are not possible, or, even desirable, in the context of a developing country. Ifanything,judicious and appropriate efforts have to be intensified to make them work. To this end, the study recommends the pursuit of a three-fold strategy consisting of (i) re-formulation of institutional policies to make the university research units more responsive to the technological needs of the industrial sector, (ii) implementation of industrial policies to stimulate firm-level R&D activities, and (iii) creation of an enabling environment for R&D. | en |
