Faculty Engagement in University-Industry Partnerships

• In Event: Engagement in Higher Education

Abstract

The interest in university-industry partnerships (UIPs) has arisen in Kazakhstan in the past two decades. Nation-wide policies underscore their importance in tackling skills gap and unemployment issues, producing high-quality human capital, and fostering socio-economic development and innovation. To understand the state of UIPs in Kazakhstan, this paper explores faculty engagement in these partnerships. The paper applies the theory of margin (McClusky, 1963) to interpret qualitative data collected by individual interviews with faculty and university administration in three higher education institutions of the country. The paper concludes that faculty plays a crucial role in building UIPs in Kazakhstan. Partnerships take place mainly in education, but are limited in research. Factors that explain limited research collaborations are also discussed in the paper.

Authors

• Gulfiya Kuchumova, Nazarbayev University

• Dilrabo Jonbekova, Nazarbayev University

• Darkhan Bilyalov

• Yerkin Abdildin

• Dilbar Gimranova

• Jason Sparks

• Hartley Matthew