Sustaining University-Industry Collaborations in Nanotechnology Research: The Malaysian Case

Abstract

University-Industry (U-I) collaborations during the course of technology development – commercialization cycle needs to be “symbiotically mutual” to both academia and industry. Based on this principle, this paper aims to determine the obstacles in sustaining U-I collaborations. By referring to the qualitative case study of nanotechnology research in Malaysia, it is evident that the two-way opposite directional priorities are what disables the mere fortification of U-I collaborations. Results from ten in-depth interview sessions have highlighted five main barriers to U-I collaborations, namely the issues of distinct logics and priorities, patent and commercialization, time factor, product safety, and product functionality and capabilities. The findings also suggest that the expected yield derived from U-I collaborations are to be the product of continuous re-engineering performed iteratively rather than “fast track” results.