Missed opportunities for university-business partnerships

By Chrissie Long. Education experts in Mexico say universities are not doing enough to collaborate with the private sector and that there is much untapped potential in research and development, consulting and teacher training. While most universities have some form of internship programme with nearby businesses and often collaborate in volunteer projects, experts believe these efforts fall short and that universities would benefit from strengthened relations with businesses. The recent National Study of Institutional Collaboration (ENAVI), which surveyed over 400 universities, found that only 18.36% work with businesses and organisations in teacher development, a mere 16.31% have small business incubators and 54.54% are involved in research and development. Read more...