Abstract:

The extent and ways in which universities as knowledge generators make their resources available for innovation in firms and industrial sectors can make a critical diff erence to knowledge intensification and competitiveness in developing countries. The challenges for Sub-Saharan Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region are similar to other countries of the south, but at the same time, very specific. As Muchie (2008:1) so clearly proposes, the issue is how African universities can be aligned to economic development, poverty eradication and sustainability – “Here research and knowledge, far from being ivory tower pursuits, become critical to making poverty history and preparing countries to cope with disasters.” New knowledge and technological developments can be harnessed to address public health, food security, water resources, extraction of mineral wealth, exploitation of bio-diversity and indigenous knowledge.

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Kruss, Glenda; Petersen, Il-haam (2008). University-Firm Interaction in the SADC Countries