Commonwealth Professional Fellows plan to establish university business research partnerships in their home countries after studying Lancaster University’s successful model
Four African academics are returning home inspired, after spending two months at Lancaster University studying its pioneering initiatives to bring businesses, academics and policy makers together to find solutions to environmental problems.
During their stay in the UK the four Commonwealth Professional Fellows - from Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya - have developed detailed strategic plans to help them to replicate some of these success stories in their own countries.
The Fellows studied the work of the award-winning Centre for Global Eco-innovation which links academic researchers with businesses to work on specific projects. The aim is to develop products, processes and services that reduce environmental impact, and improve the efficient and responsible use of resources.
They also met some of the environmental small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) based within the Lancaster Environment Centre, and spent time with the Centre’s Enterprise and Business Partnerships team.
All four were impressed by how business-focused groups from across the University work together, and how research is co-designed with business, to ensure that the findings help businesses develop and prosper, as well as improving environmental outcomes.
“In most universities people generally carry out research just for research sake,” said Dr. Kwadwo Ansong Asante, a Senior Research Scientist at the Water Research Institute, part of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Ghana.
“I have learnt that we need to know the needs of SMEs so we can tailor our research to them: in that way we would have the impact we are all aiming at.”While at Lancaster, Dr Asante has written a two-year strategy plan “to try to woo SMEs closer to the CSIR and hopes to achieve this with the support of his management.”
Mr. Hilary Ragen from Kenya, who works for the pan African think-tank, the African Technology Policy Studies Network, said: “I’ve been able to learn a lot here: that universities’ work can be tied to social impact; that it is important to have a dedicated team for interaction between business and universities; and that this interaction allows students to be more employable and provides income for business.”
Dr. Edu Inam, Director of the new Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability Research (ICEESR) at the University of Uyo in Nigeria, said: “For me the experience has been wonderful, we have had sincere, frank and thought provoking discussions and been exposed to a lot of ideas.
“My best experience was the insight I gained into the research and innovation office here and how organised, in terms of monitoring and evaluation, people in that office are.
“There is a synergy between their work, and the work of the intellectual property office, and the Lancaster University Management School: all driving business engagement. We don’t have those kinds of internal collaborations in African universities. I have come away with a strategy document on how to establish a partnership and business unit in my university.”Mr. Efosa Osamudiamen, an engineering lecturer from the University of Benin, will be helping to launch a Centre for Global Eco-Innovation Nigeria on 15June, 2017.
“I’ve gained perspective. Being here in Lancaster has given me the opportunity to get to know that even those who make policies can be influenced, if you just keep doing what you think is right, and tell your stories about what you are doing.”
All four Commonwealth Fellows offered particular thanks to the people at the Lancaster Environment Centre who organised their programme: Professor Kirk Semple, the Director for International Engagement; Dr Akanimo Odon, the Africa Strategy Adviser,;Prof. Nigel Paul, the Director for the Centre for Global Eco-Innovation (CGE),;Dr. Ruth Alcock, Head of Enterprise & Business Partnership as well as staff from her team.
They will keep in touch after they leave to support each other to implement their plans, and are creating an alumni network including three former African Commonwealth Professional Fellows from the banking, government and university sectors who made a similar trip to Lancaster 18 months ago.
They won’t have to wait long to meet up again: they will all be going to the University of Benin for the launch of the Centre for Eco-innovation Nigeria in June.