Naveed Yasin, S. A. Gilani, Gayatri Nair, Ghada M. Abaido, Soumaya Askri
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
This paper explores the nexus between University-Industry Collaborations (UIC) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region informed by a multiple-country-case study design. This study aims to explore the motives, opportunities and challenges, and propose effective practices in the MENA region context. Based on qualitative data retrieved through a series of 72 semi-structured interviews with university stakeholders (i.e., faculty, directors of corporate training, administrative staff, gatekeepers, company representatives and liaisons) conducted from March 2021 to September 2022. The sample was determined by a criterion sampling approach that enabled the development of cases from five countries in the MENA region (United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco) with each country sample comprising five university cases on average. This study was designed on a Multiple Case Study Research Design Approach ( Yin, 2013 ) and this was supplemented by Template Analysis (a form of thematic analysis), and to incorporate the cross-national comparative dimension, Yasin and Hafeez (2022) approaches were adopted. The findings illustrate a wide range of motives, challenges, opportunities, and effective factors that are linked to varying objectives such as (1) the vision and ownership structures, (2) the stakeholder connections of universities (3) the brand reputation of the university provider (4) the perception and ranking of universities as well as (5) approaches undertaken by the University representative to negotiate the expectations of live projects. As a result, a contextualized framework is proposed in this study as the “five [essential] keys” for successful collaborations for the nexus between university and industry collaborations. The originality of this study is inherent in the qualitative cases and contextualized influences in non-westernized countries that are empirically under-explored, as well as the five keys framework that is useful from a theoretical and practical standpoint for academics, policymakers, and university leadership.
期刊介绍:
Industry and Higher Education focuses on the multifaceted and complex relationships between higher education institutions and business and industry. It looks in detail at the processes and enactments of academia-business cooperation as well as examining the significance of that cooperation in wider contexts, such as regional development, entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems. While emphasizing the practical aspects of academia-business cooperation, IHE also locates practice in theoretical and research contexts, questioning received opinion and developing our understanding of what constitutes truly effective cooperation. Selected key topics Knowledge transfer - processes, mechanisms, successes and failures Research commercialization - from conception to product ''Graduate employability'' - definition, needs and methods Education for entrepreneurship - techniques, measurement and impact The role of the university in economic and social development The third mission and the entrepreneurial university Skills needs and the role of higher education Business-education partnerships for social and economic progress University-industry training and consultancy programmes Innovation networks and their role in furthering university-industry engagement