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Higher education responsiveness through partnerships with industry: The case of a university of technology programme

Wedekind, Volker; Mutereko, Sybert

Authors

Sybert Mutereko



Abstract

In the context of mid-level skills shortages and the promotion of industry–education partnerships, this article examines the case of a longstanding partnership between the pulp and paper industry and a university of technology. The partnership resulted in the development of a focused qualification. We explore the experiences and understandings of academics and students in order to examine the benefits and pitfalls of such partnerships in addressing the needs of business, higher education and the students. The results show that while the university of technology has benefitted through work placements for their students and funding for industry-seconded lecturers, the partnership’s links are weakening. The programme is unattractive to high-achieving ‘matric’ graduates and is taken as a stepping-stone to other engineering fields. The article explores why this has developed. The curriculation of qualifications that are narrowly focused on one industry may limit articulation and portability of skills between different industries by graduates.

Citation

Wedekind, V., & Mutereko, S. (2016). Higher education responsiveness through partnerships with industry: The case of a university of technology programme. Development Southern Africa, 33(3), 376-389. doi:10.1080/0376835X.2016.1156516

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 25, 2016
Online Publication Date Jun 21, 2016
Publication Date Jun 21, 2016
Deposit Date Jul 3, 2018
Print ISSN 0376-835X
Publisher Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 33
Issue 3
Pages 376-389
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2016.1156516
Public URL http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0376835X.2016.1156516
Publisher URL https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0376835X.2016.1156516