Strategic mechanisms for stimulating academiaindustry interactions in Rwanda

Abstract

This dissertation seeks to enhance the understanding of University Industry Collaboration (UIC) context in Sub-Saharan Africa and to identify mechanisms to stimulate interactions and knowledge transfer between the two economic entities. Results from three studies on Rwanda and a systematic literature review are presented and discussed. They indicate that UIC activities in Rwanda are unidirectional and narrow in scope i.e., mainly taking place through educational-oriented channels. They are therefore less prone to the creation and diffusion of knowledge through relational learning. From the industry perspective, results reveal that companies are motivated by short-term benefits rather than long term innovation-oriented benefits, mainly due to a business context less auspicious to investing in long-term growth-related projects. Findings reveal also that the industry in Rwanda has a negative perception on the current UIC activities and on the capacity of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to meet firms’ growth and profitability needs. From this context, potential mechanisms to stimulate UIC are identified, and companies’ perception on the extent to which they stimulate UIC assessed. The latter is done using the Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) methodology. Results from this DCE allow to conclude by proposing a mix of stimulating mechanisms for UIC, consisting of (1) instilling the commitment of both academia and industry (mainly through ensuring win-win between partners), (2) building trust (through enhancement of quality of graduates and research), (3) creating a conducive UIC governance and policy framework (through creation of an independent boundary spanner), and (4) establishing an effective information and communication system between actors. We suggest implementing the identified mechanisms concomitantly because they are interdependent and results from one influence the implementation of the others.