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South Africa is currently in the process of compacting its higher education institutions. The merging of universities and technikons across the country will ultimately result in 35 institutions becoming 21. It is indeed an opportune time for assessment – and for the formation of policy and practical proposals in line with national goals. Dr Glenda Kruss, a chief research specialist at the HSRC, has chosen to focus a keen eye on the partnerships between higher education facilities and industry in Working Partnerships in Higher Education, Industry and Innovation – financial or intellectual imperatives. Utilising research drawn from 35 universities and technikons across the country in 2003, she looks at who has developed alliances, why and how this has happened, what the benefits and constraints are for all parties, and what the national impact could be. Kruss works from the premise that the relationship between higher education institutions and industry is key to long-term development and the growth of a knowledge economy. She maps the forms of partnership found in three cutting-edge technology fields: biotechnology, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and new materials development. South Africa has strong aspirations to move up the value chain and develop a national system of innovation. Innovation, in this case, defined as 'the application in practice of creative new ideas, which in many cases involves the introduction of inventions into the marketplace'. This is seen as critical to the achievement of social, economic and political goals. However, technology achievement problems - described as an 'innovation chasm' between local industry, local research and international technology sources - are a key challenge. How this challenge is addressed, by both higher education institutions and industry itself, opens up a number of possibilities. Kruss identifies four different institutional responses from 18 institutions with hi-tech capacity: The first are seen as 'harnessing innovation potential', and are characterised by a keenness to collaborate with industry in order to contribute to innovation and to financially boost their academic institutions. These institutions have policies and structures in place which facilitate this process. The second group’s attitude is characterised as 'emergent entrepreneurialism'. These are institutions more explicitly driven by a financial imperative, and are attempting to build their scientific capacity. The third group adopts a laissez faire approach best described as 'traditional', in which partnerships are seen as a necessary evil, and often detrimental to 'true' academic research. The fourth group can equally be labelled laissez faire, but in an 'aspirational' manner - they value partnerships, but do not always have the capacity to support them. Partnerships may thus develop in a very ad hoc manner. While Kruss acknowledges the positive aspects of harnessing innovation potential, her research findings also point to the fact that not all institutions have either the capacity or the will to pursue this. Further, in examining the 17 institutions without serious scientific capacity but with alternative partnership strategies, she poses the possibility that perhaps not all higher education facilities need to offer the same level of academic research, or pursue the same level of partnerships with industry. There could - and should - be space for a variety of collaborations to develop, including community development relationships and sustainable poverty-reducing initiatives. In this light, future policy may do well to take into account not only factors such as historical disadvantage. The research would indicate that different institutions have strengths in various different areas - undergraduate, postgraduate, research, training, partnerships etc – and very often this suits a geographical, social or community need. In other words, specialisation is an option. Working partnerships in higher education, industry and innovation - financial or intellectual imperatives (HSRC Press) employs robust research methods to explore academic and industry possibilities at a crucial time in the history of higher education in South Africa. Divided into four distinct but related sub-studies, it attempts to answer important questions around what sort of partnerships we have, and may need, for developing a national system of innovation. And it looks at the potential for a multi-textured approach to higher education institutions that offers plenty of food for thought for educationists and policy makers alike. Working partnerships in higher education, industry and innovation – financial or intellectual imperatives is published by HSRC Press. Copies of all of HSRC Press published titles are available from leading booksellers nationally, and from the online bookshop at www.hsrcpress.ac.za.
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