University-Industry Collaboration in Kenya: Insights from Employers in the Service Sector

Abstract

The quest for relevance in university education is a recurring theme. While relevance is a multi-facetted concept in higher education discourse, there is near consensus that one of its surest indicators is a ‘fit’ or ‘match’ between what universities offer and what industry expects. Such an indicator is most commonly measured through the existing relationships between universities and industry. As such, there is heightened research interest globally on university-industry collaborations (UIC). The purpose of this study was to interrogate the status of UIC in Kenya as perceived by employers. The study targeted the service sector, which is the highest employer of university graduates in Kenya. The study adopted a mixed methods approach which utilized a concurrent triangulation research design. Data were generated through a questionnaire administered to 369 respondents, an interview guide administered on three (3) key informant interviewees, and a document analysis guide administered on 20 documents. The findings of this study reveal that the uptake of UIC is still low in Kenya. Further, it was revealed that where UIC is existing, the most preferred relationship is where industry offers university students opportunities for industrial/field attachment, while the least preferred is where industry collaborates with and/or funds university research and innovation activities. On the basis of these findings, this study recommends that, one, universities should develop and progressively update their conceptualizations of employability to include defined UIC requirements; and two, government and relevant regulatory agencies should both promote and enforce the existence and vibrancy of UIC for every course in every university.