1. Quality Education for Development
University-Private Sector and Industry Partnership Forum for Innovation, Research and Development
DAY ONE RECAP
Kigali, Rwanda
October
Thursday, May 02, 2019
Quality Education for Development

2. Quality Education for Development
Theme
Engaging private companies to be in the centre governance advisory bodies of ACEs project activities
Thursday, May 02, 2019
Quality Education for Development

3. Goals of the Forum
to provide progress and update on achievements and prospects of the ACE II Project
to engage in bilateral discussions with stakeholders on supporting ACEs to strengthen partnerships with private sector and industry

4. Structure of Day 1 Opening Session
Welcome remarks and introductions
Project update and university-industry linkage
Update on private sector/industry partnerships
3 ACEs/countries and their private sector partners
Panel discussion (questions)
Theme: “Commercializing and linkage of university education to private sector/industry”
Breakout sessions
Networking with private partners by clusters
Plenary discussions
Networking dinner and talent/cultural show

5. Quality Education for Development
BACKGROUND
Thursday, May 02, 2019
Quality Education for Development

6. Quality Education for Development
Justification
There is a large gap between demand and supply, especially of STEM skills and programmes
Less than 30% of tertiary enrolment is in science and technology
Hence the need to promote STI skills from basic/primary education
There is top-level commitment in putting S&T at the centre of growth
8 governments signing up loans to promote STI (ACE II)
Rwanda Vision 2020 is designed to raise critical mass of skills in STI for national and regional development
There are 3 important things: incentives; collaboration mechanisms; capacity building for both university and industry
Incentives is in-built into the project i.e. every achievement is rewarded (DLIs-DLRs)
Thursday, May 02, 2019
Quality Education for Development

7. ACE II Organized into 3 Components
US$ 140m
US$ 3m
US$ 5m
strengthening the 24 higher education institutions into regional ACEs in Eastern and Southern Africa in a set of defined regional priority areas
providing capacity building support to these ACEs through regional activities
supporting coordination and management of the implementation of components (i) and (ii)
partnerships and scholarships

8. Purpose of Partnerships
To support ACEs ability to collaborate with the private sector through regional academia-public-private partnerships
To support collaborative development and implementation of research agenda for viable economic growth for the region
To enable the ACEs to carry out research that can be translated into business concepts
To provide a framework for improved graduate skills required by the private sector and for self-employment
Thursday, May 02, 2019
Quality Education for Development

9. Partnership with Industry…
Promotes university outreach and engagement for societal impact
Is the ultimate yardstick for measuring university relevance to, and impact on, society
Denotes a shift from commodity-based to knowledge- based economies for fulfilling the needs of society
Will contribute to regional innovation systems
Thursday, May 02, 2019
Quality Education for Development

10. Quality Education for Development
EMERGING ISSUES
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Quality Education for Development

11. Quality Education for Development
Relevance
University education has traditionally been focused on mastering content
There is need now to be more market-driven, hence relate well with the private sector
Mismatch between products of universities and needs of society
There are many jobs/vacancies in industry, yet many graduates remain un-employed
90% of interns end up becoming employees in our companies
Therefore need for harmonized curriculum at the national and regional levels
Development of academic programme benchmarks i.e. identify generic and specific competencies in subject areas (see IUCEA, Tuning Africa initiative)
Consulting industry in designing programmes/curricula (for customer needs-based research and teaching)
Thursday, May 02, 2019
Quality Education for Development

12. Disconnect between Academia and Industry
Academia are somehow conservative and find it difficult to work with industry
Most business practitioners are not decorated with high academic credentials
Industry is not aware of most existing academia activities
Case of Ngali holdings involvement in the energy sector
Mismatch in missions of academia and industry
The main purpose of the private sector is to make money, while academia focusses on knowledge production
Academia is focused on publications, while industry is focused on patents
Thursday, May 02, 2019
Quality Education for Development

13. Bridging the Disconnect
Appreciate that academia (ACEs) and industry need each other for realistic investment to create impact in society
For academia, the personality of a professor is crucial
Professors need to open up to innovative business ideas from outside (case of Joseph Nkandu and Makerere Professor)
Some universities and private sector companies have specialized R&D facilities that are under-utilized
Need for private sector to spend time with university graduates to mentor them about life outside campus
Development of an IP policy
To address how royalties may be shared between academia and industry
Thursday, May 02, 2019
Quality Education for Development

14. Quality Education for Development
KEY QUESTIONS
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Quality Education for Development

15. Quality Education for Development
1. Current policies to engage with private sector (to join universities to teaching and learning)
University-industry linkages policy (MU)
University strategic plans
Appointments and promotions criteria is clear about lecturers having linkages with industry
Policy on honorary/adjunct appointments of lecturers from practitioners
Directorate of external relations
Thursday, May 02, 2019
Quality Education for Development

16. 1b) What incentives are there to work with private sector?
The job of an academic is three-pronged: teaching, research and community engagement
Performance management systems ensure that such collaborations contribute to promotions
There are incentives to disclose consultancies professors are working on (e.g. 70%/30% at MU)
Thursday, May 02, 2019
Quality Education for Development

17. Quality Education for Development
2. Relationships with NCHEs: do you feel you have sufficient autonomy to introduce partnerships with private sector?
NCHEs ensure that public universities are being subjected to more scrutiny (Kenya Universities Act 2012?)
It is a moral imperative i.e. regulators enhance/assure quality of education
Universities still have the liberty to sign any MOUs with the private sector (Copperbelt)
NCHE, which is relatively new in Malawi, has harmonized selection of students by universities – centralized selection
Some partnerships ensure that programmes are peer- reviewed from outside as well (e.g. UR and CMU – hence double/dual degrees programmes)
For curriculum to be relevant, we have to involve community/industry
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Quality Education for Development

18. Quality Education for Development
3. Alumni: in which ways do you connect with your graduates? do you do tracer studies?
Some universities have a tool for graduate tracer studies (MU)
Directorates in charge of alumni affairs
There are macro-level tracer studies by NCHE i.e. conducting a nation- wide tracer study
Tracer studies of STEM graduates (NCST, Rwanda)
Private universities are better at alumni building
Other than resources mobilization, alumni may be involved in other roles as well
marketing alma matter, role in curriculum review, motivational addresses, etc
Need for sensitization on how best university could associate with its alumni
A champion (ambassador) for each of the classes
Data: there is need for reliable databases to understand the performance of our graduates
Thursday, May 02, 2019
Quality Education for Development

19. Quality Education for Development
4. How do you determine the priority for research in your country/university? Is there priority for basic research?
National visions guide the research in the university
Alignment to SDGs
Guided by the university strategic plan
Individual/faculty interest
As a result of partnering with industry, but must align with the needs of the university
Aligned to policies of funding agencies
Government-driven research is mainly applied, for specific interventions and immediate impact
Thursday, May 02, 2019
Quality Education for Development

20. Quality Education for Development
5. What kind of interventions can IUCEA/WB do to help facilitate partnership with Private Sector?
Capacity for internships, supervisions
Need for professors working with industries on internships, etc, so that they are able to intervene immediately
Pedagogical training : excellence in teaching and learning need capacity enhancement
Learner-centred pedagogy is very important
Starting up fully university-owned marketing companies instead of relying on private sector partners
Thursday, May 02, 2019
Quality Education for Development

21. Quality Education for Development
Challenges
Domination of industry and private sector by companies from outside the region
Inadequate commitment to local development, sometimes bordering on exploitative tendencies
Where are the PhD female candidates?
inability to attract enough female candidates in some sectors/ACEs (case of IRPM&BTD)
Challenges on effective partnership models (case of CS- OGET/Sasol)
Can the private sector support (basic) research?
Lack of skilled people in industry to mentor/assess interns
Industry need to have some idea of intended learning outcomes, and assessment of the same
Thursday, May 02, 2019
Quality Education for Development

22. Quality Education for Development
Recommendations
For placement of interns, the academia should consider engaging the private sector through their respective umbrella associations
The umbrella bodies are not hell-bent on making money
Some of the bodies sign performance contracts with industry on how many interns they recruit
The private sector players must appreciate their role in nurturing fresh graduates to fit into the job market, rather that expecting to get market-ready graduates
the private sector should be invited to share their experiences with students on campus (to open up their minds)
There is need for a database of all industry players in the region, for effective partnership formation
The feasibility of young PhDs undertaking part of their post- doctoral training in industry
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Quality Education for Development

23. Further Input…