Industry–Academia Engagements: UK Perspective

Collaborations between industry and academia are well established in the industrialised world. Products and services are subjected to appropriate research and development at research institutions, innovation hubs and industrial parks in conjunction with tertiary institutions before they are released for full-throttle production in the industry. However, research has revealed that this is not the case with the industrialising (developing) world; some may still be struggling to transition from the Third to the Fourth Industrial Revolutions. This has been attributed to the wide gap between industry and academia and the lack of sufficient support from governments and industry. In recent years, industries in developing countries have been more receptive to academic interventions and proposals after realising the benefits and potentials that such collaborations can accrue, following various success stories from the industrialised world. As a build-up to the development of indigenous capacities and skills for economic growth in industrialising countries proposed in this book, this chapter analyses the relationship between industry and academia in the United Kingdom to benchmark and guide the development of the same in Southern Africa and other industrialising countries.