University-industry collaboration: Role of management
A garment worker. There is a need for closer collaboration between universities and industry.
Knowledge sharing and transfer through University-Industry collaboration (UIC) is identified as the third mission of universities supplementary to Mission 1: ‘Teaching’ for production of quality graduates, and Mission 2: ‘Conducting economically, socially and culturally relevant ‘research’. The third mission, like the third eye chakra of humans, opens up the wisdom, clears the path, encourages concentration on what the world needs, and develops a universal connection for universities.
UIC is now receiving increasing attention during this era of the 4th industrial revolution, changes to the world order accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic more than ever. University management stands out as a critical player in determining the success of UIC, while academics initiate collaborations. Extant literature questions whether management is a barrier or a facilitator for effective UIC. Universities are towers of wisdom; they create and diffuse knowledge through their human capital (academics and graduates), research and innovation. Industry is the engine of growth in any nation. Industry and universities can jointly move economies towards prosperity with new knowledge, invention and innovation. UIC can be effectively used to address a myriad of issues encountered by universities as well as industry. Improvement of work readiness and employability of graduates is one strong benefit. Universities and industry would get a better understanding on the quality of graduates produced as well the competence the industry expects. Industry exposure to academia, students, and degree curricula would naturally enrich the degree programme targeting contemporary market needs and being responsive to the changing world.
Universities in general, are identified as ivory towers that rise high isolating themselves from the rest of the community. Massification, internationalisation, economisation and commercialisation of higher education pose challenges to universities’ survival and recognition. These ‘sations’ along with globalisation shatter the walls of these ivory towers. Opening the third eye is left with the universities as a strategy to stand tall on pillars (industry) rooted into the ground. However much attempted, UIC could be compared to the Tower of Bable’ where the two communities, i.e. industry and university talk different languages and run towards different aims, such that none understand each other.
State universities in Sri Lanka are less entrepreneurial and reflect a low presence of UIC. This is reflected in lack of marketable research and innovations produced in the country, lack of commercialising opportunities tapped by universities, lack of efficient management in universities and mismatch between graduates and the industry. Sri Lanka is in 74th place of UIC collaboration out of 126 countries in Global Innovation Ranking (2020). Effect of reforms introduced to enhance UIC is minimal, except a few ad-hoc, isolated, limited networks developed over the years. Excessive bureaucracy in the administration, absence of a proper mechanism to facilitate collaborations, personal interests and interactions over institutional collaboration are among the major constraints that impede UIC. An appropriate organisational structure, procedures and context within the university is crucial for fostering UIC.
University management playing the intermediary role, collaborates with the industry and university academics, to develop links in the organisational context and identify areas appropriate and competent for collaboration. While academics and students are involved in project consultancy and execution, management carries out correspondences, mediation and facilitation. UIC is mostly initiated with personal relationships between academics and industry; closer the relationship among actors more the personal collaboration will be. This hampers the institutional goals and is a challenge for the university management in formalising collaboration. Irrespective of the predictable resistance from the academic community as well as from the industry for formalising personal contacts, formalising UIC is a must to reap benefits in a much larger context. From dawn to dusk we use to criticise management; management of the country, government organisations, private sector, university management cannot escape from the responsibility for effective UIC.
How and why university management fails in setting UIC in the right track?
Some sarcastically refers ‘paperwork’ as the bible of the public/ sector; more so in the state university management. Larsen, Bandara, Esham and Unatenne, in their study (2016), identified that rigid procedures, sticking to a set of forms and operating procedures demoralise players of UIC in the Sri Lankan context. Universities like other public institutes are too fond of passing decisions from one committee to another, a ball passing exercise as some would say, are nearly immortal as a result of already mortal system development. A tall hierarchy of public universities opposed to the flat hierarchy of companies creates unrest among two parties where the marriage often ends at the engagement. The industry considers time as money and hence easily gets disappointed with administrative approaches and delays of universities.
University academics have strong ideologies on their work practices, be it research, teaching or consultancy. Likewise, industry professionals such as medical practitioners, engineers hold onto their ideologies and ways of doing things. These conflicting ideologies shun the opportunities to see through what the other party needs and how the other operates. Limited understanding of the responsibilities of each other is a major barrier in initiating and maintaining collaborations that often ends up in disputes leading to lawsuits.
Universities being towers of wisdom shan’t close the third eye because of manageable troubles!
Clarity on responsibilities and a better understanding between two parties can be achieved by developing mechanisms, processes for UIC beforehand. Adhoc arrangements do not go with credible professionals. Ambiguities, inflexibilities and rigidities cannot crop up during execution. ‘Trust’ seals long-term relationships; maintaining continuity of UIC is on the shoulders of the management.
Leadership and the commitment of the senior management is critical to overcoming the natural resistance among academics to engaging in UIC. Lack of incentives and bureaucratic bottlenecks can deter academics from participating in UIC. Leaders cannot favour or discriminate one party; they must set their vision on fostering sustainable relationships with industry. University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka has made several efforts to navigate the universities towards entrepreneurial culture since 2005. Encouraging senior academics to work in industry with paid leave, providing tax concessions to the industry, introducing University-Business Linkage concept and making regulatory frameworks are among them. While some universities or faculties are flourishing, we still see voids and frustrations sprung.
Conventional thinking on UIC
For some UIC means undergraduate internship training and getting a feedback from employers on such training. The popular reference are made on industry representation in faculty boards, delivery of guest lectures, and industry representatives role as visiting lecturers in universities. Industry representative involvement in curricular development and career guidance services are activated at a slow pace with reluctance. Limited knowledge on what really can be achieved through UIC and how to initiate UIC are obvious reasons for slow movement in UIC.
Has management abandoned its responsibility for fostering UIC? This is evident in the case, where a senior lecturer of a university developed a marketable product for a private firm. The lecturer was accused by the management for not following procedures. Management viewed the knowledge transfer partnership as unauthorised and took punitive action against the leturer. These are not uncommon in universities. Such attitudes and actions of the management make academia frustrated and demotivated. In such instances the academics’ reputation is at stake, and would demotivate both academia and the industry and jeoperdise UIC. Parties tend to suspect the support anticipated from the management. The industry gets detached and academics get demoralised.
University management must expand its network and its reach to diversified industries and services. The management shall view UIC in new lenses; dilute the mistrust between university and industry; treat industry as a partner in development; depart from its conventional behaviour, interpret rules in its spirit but not to the letter. Public sector management is well known for assuring means, but not the ends. A broad outlook on UIC is a timely need. Transparent and evidence-based decision making is important for successful UIC to maintain trust and solve conflicts. Flexibility and the speed of the management cannot be ignored. Random and sporadic decision-making is not welcome in the university sector. A revisit to the management of universities in particular and the entire public sector, in general, is important and overdue. A flatter hierarchy, result-oriented clear standard operating procedures, effective communication processes, clear transparent guidelines are some crucial steps that universities can give thoughts to in the present context.
(The writer is a holder of a senior position in a state university with international experience and exposure and an MBA from Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM), Sri Lanka and currently reading for her PhD in Quality Assurance in the Higher Education Sector at PIM. She can be reached at cv5imbulgoda@gmail.com)
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