BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION IN NIGERIAN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

This paper explores business model innovation that aims to innovate the Nigerian higher education sector. A focus group and semi-structured interviews among higher education Nigerian academics, students and graduates are used to explore the new business model for Nigerian higher education. The study found that, to achieve efficient and effective innovation, Nigerian higher education institutions need to collaborate with industry, professionals and other stakeholders, such as company management and government policy-makers, to transform the entire higher education sector. The study found that curriculum design and delivery needs to blend theoretical understanding and real-life experience from industry with social cultural influences related to the Nigerian environment. This will enable lecturers to organise their teaching and assessments in such a way that students can learn around theoretical and practical study themes. The curriculum design and delivery needs to link the core ideas to challenging problems in society, nationally and globally. Hence, this approach will support business start-ups and social entrepreneurship, which resolve key societal problems. The study suggests that higher education executives, directors, deans, heads of department, and even individual academics need to emulate innovative business managers, to create value-adding products and services from innovative research and academic work. This will help the Nigerian higher education institutions to develop and offer new products and services to different customer segments, differentiated according to customer needs. Article visualizations: