Collaborate to innovate

From 8 to 10 November 2010, the University of the Western Cape from South Africa, together with Ghent University, Belgium (UGent) and Wageningen University Research (WUR) Centre for Development Innovation, the Netherlands , NUFFIC (the Netherlands) and VLIR-UOS (Belgium) are organising an international workshop on the role of university collaboration in innovation strategies, to be hosted by the University of Western Cape. This workshop, organised within the framework of the Development Policy Review Network is part of the process 'Collaborate to innovate. The knowledge triangle in developing countries: a missed opportunity in university development cooperation?'

The workshop, which is to have a regional focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, is designed to share best practices in our joint ambition to continue developing our economies, strengthening collaboration and boosting innovation.

Collaboration between universities and non-academic partners is considered to be the key to successful innovation. The question is, however, what the nature of successful collaboration is? Does everybody gain? If so, we are doing well but if not, can we limit the ‘drain’ of financial investment or human capital? Do we know each other well enough to make the most of this collaboration and how good are our ‘best practices’?

Similarly, this workshop wants to address the question of innovation: if innovation is more than technological development, how do we define this ‘more than’? If innovation also involves new processes to improve our quality of life and to address the ‘big questions’ such as climate change, sustainable development, energy demands or demographic changes, what is the role of micro-innovation? And how can universities improve their service to society?