Scientific research and innovation for human development-the concept of science parks for Universities in Kenya

Abstract

Sustained competitive innovation is not seldom an outcome of the effort of a single industry or institution. This realization has spurred governments to direct resources to stimulate the emergence and strengthening of research institutions and universities in Kenya Universities in the 21st century aim at providing solutions to challenges facing human society through structured research and the generation of ideas for new products. This paper explores how the established institutions in Kenya have generated research to develop those areas where they are geographically located. Among the questions to be answered by this paper include; where are we in terms of scientific and technological research? What has been done and what remains to be done? Has the research quality and quantity changed since the establishment of several other universities? How well have the Kenyan university researchers disseminated their findings to industrial sector and how has funding affected the generation of new innovations? How individual universities have mobilized resources for the sake of research? The paper too proposes the creation of science parks as a proven method that university researchers in Kenya can use to commercialize their innovations and make industrial products more relevant and competitive as they help the government in creating more jobs. The generalized assumption is that research in science in Africa is faced by almost similar challenges and thus the Kenyan experiences, challenges and solutions can inform other regions in the developing world.