Understanding Perceived Barriers to University-Industry Collaborations among Academics: Evidence from University of Lagos

Abstract

There is a growing consensus among politicians, scholars, and industry professionals in the country that university-industry collaboration has a significant role to play in Nigerias pursuit of a diversified economy. While several discussions focus on the potential gains of university-industry collaborations, little has been said about the sensitivity of the academics to extant barriers to collaboration with the industry. . This study, therefore, examines the perceived barriers to collaboration among the academics. Drawing on a cross-sectional survey administered among 38 Heads of Departments and 201 academics sampled across the faculties of Arts, Business Administration, Engineering, Law, Sciences, and Social Sciences in the University of Lagos, the study uses the Pearson Chi-Squared test of independence to test the hypothesis that there is no association between perceived barriers to university-industry collaboration and the faculty of the academics. The findings show that: (i) the academic members across the faculties surveyed pay little or no attention to commercialization, licensing of patents, and establishment of spin-off companies; (ii) perceived barriers to university-industry collaboration is independent of the faculties of each academic , whether Arts/Humanities or Sciences/Engineering; (iii) funding and pressure on academic time lead the pack of perceived barriers to university-industry collaboration among the academics in the University of Lagos. The implications of the findings for pro-university-industry policy designs are discussed.