Organizing the University–Industry Relationship: A case study of research policy and curriculum restructuring at the North‐West University in South Africa

Abstract

A major requirement for transformation contained in the new education policy in South Africa is that the graduate outputs of the higher education system should match the needs of a modernizing economy. This paper addresses the organizational aspect of university–industry relationships that is an element of the transformation. In empirical terms, it reflects upon the policy of the North‐West University in South Africa, as embodied by means of the introduction of the Business Mathematics and Informatics (BMI) curriculum and research. Empirical results indicate that the number of students who opted for mathematics had increased dramatically. The majority of graduates delivered by the BMI programme are employed in the financial sector, both nationally and internationally. This paper indicates that the organization of university–industry relationships enforces a difficult institutional balancing act that attempts, on the one hand, to meet the benchmark of international scientific indicators, and on the other hand, “fitness for purpose” in the local context.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the students, instructors, professors and the (middle) management of BMI at the NWU, the (middle) managers and the BMI alumni at ABSA Bank in Johannesburg, as well as the professors and (former) policy‐makers of the VUA in Amsterdam for their cooperation in our project.

Notes

1. An earlier version of this paper has been presented by Kees Boersma at the Annual Conference of the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) “Reshaping Higher Education” in Brighton, Sussex, in December 2007.