evelopment by A. a . El-Faham In both developed and developing countries a gap exists between universities and industry. In developed and industrialised countries universities are in the process offorsaking their ivory towers andforging strong links with industq mainly through sponsored research and continuing education. In developing countries the gap is very wide indeed. This paper analyses the university-industry gap syndrome and supgests means by which the gap can be reduced. Since research plays a very important role in promoting university-industry ties, the role of RGD as a linkage between univevsities and industry is also discussed. he majority of countries that are today referred to as developing or thrd world countries were, in the not too distant past, the colonies or T protectorates of colonial powers and as such their educational systems were modelled after those of the ‘parent’ countries. However, the educational systems of these parent countries were based essentially on the particular socio-cultural characteristics and historical evolution of each country rather than on actual industrial requirements (universities preceded industry by several centuries). Ths has led, over the years, to the establishment of a widening gap between universities and industry. The developed and hghly industriahed countries reaksed (albeit fairly recently) that if ths gap were not narrowed and bridged the result would be detrimental to both sides and hence to the nation as a whole. Perhaps the first country to realise the importance of bridging the gap and to do .so successfully was the United States, more than three decades ago. This is primarily due to its free-market-economy based industry and its non-centralised higher education system. In Europe and the UK serious efforts to establish closer links between industry and academe are much more recent, commencing a little over a decade ago. In developing countries on the other hand, the ‘alien’ nature of the education systems, coupled with the very large inertia inherent in any education system, has reduced these systems to a state of quasi-static letharu. In spite of the growth of industry, the universities have remained confined in their ivory towers and, unfortunately, little or no effort has been made to bridge the ever-widening university-industry gap. There are several reasons for this: 0 Faculty staff have completed their college education, undergraduate or graduate or both, at universities in advanced countries. For reasons of prestige and recognition, curricula are modelled on those at such universities without any regard for local requirements. Liaison with any existing industries is completely ignored, since their requirements are considered to be well below the capabhties of universities: it is a question ofwho sets the standards, almost a matter of honour! 0 In developing countries, industry-public uthties and corporations as well as service industries-in its infancy looks up in awe at engineering colleges and is under the delusion that the graduating engineers will be capable of solving all its problems. 0 In some developing countries, where graduates are ‘assigned’ permanent jobs, the bureaucracy of the socio-political system is such as to make it almost impossible to establish any meaningL1 ties between universities and industry. 0 With very heavy teachng loads and promotion- oriented research work, faculty staff find very little time for promoting any of the university-industry interaction which is necessary for broadening professional experience and exposure. In order to have a better perception of the university- industry gap syndrome, we have listed in Table 1 the principal factors contributing to this gap and in ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND EDUCATION JOURNAL JUNE 1998 122
Transcript
evelopment by A. a . El-Faham
In both developed and developing countries a gap exists between universities and industry. In developed and industrialised countries universities are in the process offorsaking their ivory towers andforging strong links with industq mainly through sponsored research and continuing education. In developing countries the gap is very wide indeed. This paper analyses the university-industry gap syndrome and supgests means by which the gap can be reduced. Since research plays a very important role in promoting university-industry ties, the role o f RGD as a linkage between univevsities and industry is also discussed.
he majority of countries that are today referred to as developing or thrd world countries were, in the not too distant past, the colonies or T protectorates of colonial powers and as such
their educational systems were modelled after those of the ‘parent’ countries. However, the educational systems of these parent countries were based essentially on the particular socio-cultural characteristics and historical evolution of each country rather than on actual industrial requirements (universities preceded industry by several centuries). Ths has led, over the years, to the establishment of a widening gap between universities and industry. The developed and hghly industriahed countries reaksed (albeit fairly recently) that if ths gap were not narrowed and bridged the result would be detrimental to both sides and hence to the nation as a whole.
Perhaps the first country to realise the importance of bridging the gap and to do .so successfully was the United States, more than three decades ago. This is primarily due to its free-market-economy based industry and its non-centralised higher education system. In Europe and the U K serious efforts to establish closer links between industry and academe are much more recent, commencing a little over a decade ago. In developing countries on the other hand, the ‘alien’ nature of the education systems, coupled with the very large inertia inherent in any education system, has reduced these systems to a state of quasi-static letharu. In spite of the growth of industry, the universities have remained confined in their ivory towers and, unfortunately, little or no effort has been
made to bridge the ever-widening university-industry gap. There are several reasons for this:
0 Faculty staff have completed their college education, undergraduate or graduate or both, at universities in advanced countries. For reasons of prestige and recognition, curricula are modelled on those at such universities without any regard for local requirements. Liaison with any existing industries is completely ignored, since their requirements are considered to be well below the capabhties of universities: it is a question ofwho sets the standards, almost a matter of honour!
0 In developing countries, industry-public uthties and corporations as well as service industries-in its infancy looks up in awe at engineering colleges and is under the delusion that the graduating engineers will be capable of solving all its problems.
0 In some developing countries, where graduates are ‘assigned’ permanent jobs, the bureaucracy of the socio-political system is such as to make it almost impossible to establish any meaningL1 ties between universities and industry.
0 With very heavy teachng loads and promotion- oriented research work, faculty staff find very little time for promoting any of the university-industry interaction which is necessary for broadening professional experience and exposure.
In order to have a better perception of the university- industry gap syndrome, we have listed in Table 1 the principal factors contributing to this gap and in
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Table 2 the reasons why the gap needs to be bridged. hold periodic seminars in collaboration with The left hand side of each table lists the factors &om the university point of view and the right hand side provide support for and participate in continuing lists the factors from the industry viewpoint.
To narrow the university-industry gap it is necessary encourage consulting that industry should: share equipment and facilities with universities.
universities
education programmes in specific areas
carry out a needs analysis: where is it going and what
provide support for student projects sponsor long-term research
Industries with scarce cash resources wdl achieve a maximum benefit-to-cost ratio by investing primarily in continuing education. This is also a good source of income for universities.
are the human resources it needs to get there?
Table 1: Factors contributing to the university-industry gap
Table 2: Why the gap needs to be bridged
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From their side, universities should:
recognise that the needs of industry have changed considerably and undertake to provide the quality of education that it requires. Today, knowledge of technology alone is not sufficient: in addition to formal engineering SMS, industry requires people with communication SHS and with knowledge of how technology relates to economics and the commercial world. invite industry to participate in the planning and periodic review of curricula and course content at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Perhaps the most important single factor which contri- butes to a strong and lasting bond between industry and university is the field of research and development.
Research and development as a linkage between industry and universities
Today the two words ‘research‘ and ‘development’ are inextricably linked together. Ths has not always been
In the past, research was the ‘monopoly’ of uni- versities, whilst development was the ‘monopoly’ of industries. Research implied ‘pure’ or ‘disinterested‘ research, almost totally dedcated towards finding out how nature works; its objective was to serve world science irrespective of economical and industrial con- siderations. Development on the other hand implied the improvement of existing technologies.
However, as a consequence of the staggering rate of advance of both science and technology, research became very detailed, speciahed and expensive. Prog- ress was accompanied by a continuous dissociation into particular problems, resulting in the ‘pulverisation’ of research-scientists knew more and more about less and less. Ths has led to an urgent need for persons with a speciahsed abhty for integration and for making use of this integrated scientific knowledge in practical applications. When science is so used for practical purposes it normally becomes a technology and as such requires development. It was thus imperative that scientific research and technological development join forces to achieve the goals of wealth creation (building industries, creating employment,
so.
Fundamental research: This is research directed towards identified gaps in knowledge. It is a major component of the type of research that industry looks to universities to perform. Directed or strategic research: This is research having a direct bearing on local conditions and long- range aims connected with the economic and/or industrial potential of a country. Applied or ad hoc research: Ths is multidmiplinary research. It seeks solutions to identified industrial problems whch use the already known facts of science. It is thus strongly associated with the development of technology and usually involves meeting the timescales needed for product develop- ment.
What is the position of developing countries vis-&vis research and development as a linkage between industry and university? It would appear that any link between the two hardly exists.
Whereas in advanced countries universities have forsaken their ivory towers and are worhng with industry and government as partners in the research and development drive, in developing countries the universities still exist in ‘splendid isolation’ as far as links with industry are concerned. There are several reasons for this:
Lack of hnds. Lack of any industrial experience, and hence aware- ness, amongst academics results in fadure to dn-ect engineering research towards industrial applications. Choice of research topics is made almost exclusively by the different supervisors, each according to his own inclination. The sole objective and incentive the research is to
obtain promotion via publications. Research laboratories and support fachties are virtually non-existent or have been allowed to age without renewal. Lack of equipment and fachties has forced research work to be almost totally computer generated. Some ofit could be termed ‘virtual research’!
The low efficacy of research and development programmes in developing countries is mainly due to the lack of a national R&D policy in either the public or private sectors of industry Moreover, - .
increasing exports etc.) and improvement in the quahty the all-important interface between industry and of life. university is non-existent.
Taking a broad view of research it is possible to For universities to participate in and make positive define four categories of research: contributions to research and development prog-
e rammes there has to be an effective interface bet&&
Undirected research: This is the so-called pure, or industry and academia such as that provided by the disinterested, or ‘blue sky’ research. It is research federal agencies in the USA (NASA, DOD, AEC, pursuing exciting new and speculative ideas in HEW, the Universities Grant Commission and whch no imrnedate pay-off is perceived. EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
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Councd) in the UK, the CNRS in France etc. Also, in without continuous research and development. Thus order to ensure a cross-flow between industrial and government, industry and universities must all be academic communities, it is important that both convinced that a close partnership between them is industriahsts and academics be equally represented in vital in today’s world of ferocious competitiveness. It is research council committees. industry and its investors that must
The establishment of speciahsed and ultimately shoulder the burden ofwealth national research centres can also provlde creation. Without research and de- very valuable links between universities velopment the long-term effect would and industry. Most of the future growth be wealth depletion. in developing countries wdl come &om It is perhaps appropriate to conclude small and mednim-sized industries, and with the follomng quotation: it is these industries that stand to gain the most from such research centres. ‘A research on the lines of applied Research centres would: science would doubtless (lead) to
improvement and development of the make avadable to industry (and thus older methods-the research in pure avoid duplicat~on of) expensive science (gives) us an entirely new and research equipment and test fachties much more powerful method. In fact, have availabk hghly quahfied per- research in applied science leads to sonnel with exceptional skds and a high degree of reforms, research in pure science leads to revolutlons, expertise in their fields of activity and revolutions, whether political or industrial, are reahse considerable savings in time and money by exceedmgly profitable thmgs if you are on the winning providing solutions to technological problems side.” which may be common to several industries
strategic research
fields of activity
collaborate as partners with universihes pursuing
develop highly quahfied human resources in their
act as centres for the transfer of technology
It is a fact thiat most developing countries have immense socio-econofic problems which makes them consider iihat any expenditure on research and development is a luxury, on the other hand the rich developing countries, whch have abundant sources of BERMAN, E. : ‘The economic of natural wealth, feel neither the urgency nor the necessity for wealth generation so that R&D is given a Very low Priority. However, all developing countries must reahse that any R&D programme, however
orientated and efficiently administered. They need to draw up their own model, one that is adapted to their own needs and particularities. By idenhfiing suitable areas, resources could be harnessed to better
Reference
1 RAYLEIGH, Lord: ‘The life of Sir J. J. ThOmson’ (Cambridge University Press, 1942)
8 National Science Board: ‘Universioj-industry research rela- tionships’ (National Science Foundabon, Washington DC, 1986)
9 UK Government White Paper: ‘Realizing our potential’. Office of Science and Technology (HMSO, May 1993)
10 ZAKY A. A: ‘Developing engineers’, IEE Rev, June 1989,
effect. Of the many questions which they have to answer the following are perhaps the most important: 99, pp 75-83
What is the size of commitment to research? What is the size of comnlitment to development? Which sciences and technologies should they con-
Wdl they duplicate the work of others? centrate on?
How can their research and technology capabhties pp.229-232 -. -
best be tranmitted into wealth-creating business activities? 0 IEE: 1998
Professor Asser Zaky is Consulting Professor and Professor M. El-Faham is Dean of Graduate Studies at the Arab Academy for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Egypt. Professor Zaky is an IEE Fellow.
There can be n’o doubt that science without industry (technoloB’) mrdl not lead to wealth creation Or improvement iri the quahty of life, nor w d industry
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