Ethical Dilemmas in Higher Education–Industry Partnerships in South Africa: Focusing on Epistemic, Transparency and Sustainability Issues

Higher education–industry partnerships are crucial for bridging skills gaps and improving graduate employability, yet they encounter ethical dilemmas tied to organisational cultures, conflicts of interest, power imbalances, reciprocity, transparency, and control over resources. Drawing on 28 narrative interviews across five South African Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), one research centre, and one industry partner, this chapter examines ethical issues through the lenses of knowledge-building/epistemic issues, transparency, and sustainability. Across our cases, we find that the industry-driven steering of tools and curricula and one-way community engagements are fundamentally epistemic questions; under-mentored work-integrated learning and weak governance are transparency gaps; and gendered hidden curricula alongside precarious student labour are sustainability risks that undermine legitimacy over time. These make visible the need for a shift towards participatory models that position community as an ethical anchor rather than a peripheral stakeholder. These concerns are interlinked: epistemic justice depends on transparent governance and sustainable partnership practices. Based on the study findings, we argue that ethically credible HEI–industry collaboration requires formal mentorship architectures, co-designed curricula with communities, and robust governance that move beyond procedural compliance toward relational and epistemic integrity.