Abstract
Engaging students as partners in university-industry collaboration (UIC) through challenge-based and real-life projects creates significant value for all participants through novel educational approaches, talent recruitment, user-driven innovation, new resources, and research-related opportunities. However, as these practices have developed iteratively over time in industrialized countries and are highly context dependent, it is unclear how they can be best transferred to emerging economy contexts. In this paper, we present a research and design process of creating an innovation intermediary to foster student-centric UIC in Nairobi, Kenya. Seen as a set of services that reside on a multilevel platform, the intermediary aims to add value to the existing ecosystem through open access knowledge sharing, promoting partnerships, and mentoring for impact in an integrative, complementary way. Through a four-step qualitative research process involving interviews and co-creation workshops with local stakeholders, we examine the ecosystem, define value creation, design the services of the intermediary, and propose a step-wise model for further diffusion. We note the importance of establishing a solid rationale for collaboration, understanding the expected value to be created, creating a neutral space for the collaboration, and planning the implementation in detail. We contribute to transferring student-centric UIC practices into emerging economy contexts.
Highlights
This paper examines fostering university-industry collaboration (UIC) in Nairobi, Kenya, through the case of creating a student-centric innovation intermediary, understood as a knowledge-intensive service organization supporting value creation
In this study, we examined the process of fostering student-centric university-industry collaboration through a research and design process of an innovation intermediary within the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Nairobi, Kenya
Using Design Thinking and service design approaches, extensive consultation, interviews, co-creation, validation workshops, and a multi-stage literature review, we initially identified the needs and gaps in the current Nairobi context
Summary
This paper examines fostering university-industry collaboration (UIC) in Nairobi, Kenya, through the case of creating a student-centric innovation intermediary, understood as a knowledge-intensive service organization supporting value creation. Novel student-centric and challenge-based learning processes and collaborative, reflexive, and problem-based learning practices have been introduced. These engage entrepreneurially-minded students as active participants and full partners within UIC. Initiatives are often framed as real-world challenge projects, addressing complex technical and social problems, aiming to co-create new products, services, and business. They do not have single, best solutions, requiring research, significant iteration, and development to create wide-ranging and meaningful concepts
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