Impediments and Approaches for Faculty and SME Linkage: Institutional Case Study

Abstract

SMEs are vital contributors to the process of commercialization of new knowledge discovered by universities. Understanding impediments and approaches for linkages between a Faculty and SMEs therefore important. The purpose of this Research is to identify the impediments and approaches for the linkages between management Faculty of Jaffna University, and SMEs of the Northern province, Sri Lanka. Data were collected using 14 in-depth interviews and 6 focus group discussions with the Students, Staff, and SMEs. Findings show 10 impediments such as reluctant participation for social contribution, lack of motivation on social participation, curriculum not encouraging field visits , lack of infrastructure facilities, work overload with academic activities, instructive methods not facilitated the voluntary social works, lack of awareness among the staff and students on of community works in the post war context, lack of support from the administration, immense gap exists between academic community and the business sector ,and negative attitude towards community participation. This study identified 8 approaches as Altering the pedagogical methods for students centered learning with industry-based curriculum, Incorporating Field visits for co-creation of knowledge, Motivating Faculty level centers for Faculty industry linkage, Attitude change programs inducing self-startup businesses, Inviting stakeholder partners for networking, Outcomes based measures for academic performance, Introducing awards for best solution-oriented Research works, and Quality led approach for student involvement.