Universities move into technology transfer world

By James Ratemo

To boost beans production, University of Nairobi researchers invented an organic fertiliser that cost 10 times less than its artificial alternative.

Rhizobium inoculator enables roots to naturally fix the much-needed nitrogen for nourishment of plants.

But farmers continue to use to the more costly and artificial CAN fertiliser because the university lacks the capacity to produce the fertiliser on a large scale, and until recently, to forge partnerships with industry for commercial production.

But things are beginning to look up after the university partnered with Mea Ltd to commercially produce the natural fertiliser.

Mea General Manager, Eustace Muriuki, says the company has seconded an employee to the university to learn more about Rhizobium inoculator.

It is this kind of transfer of knowledge from university to the private sector that a recent conference held at the British Council on technology transfer promoted.

Research receives limited attention in local universities but what is worse is that even successful innovations rarely reach the commercialisation stage.

Consequently, studies and innovations gather dust in the laboratories and libraries. "There is little effort to transfer knowledge from universities to the private sector where it can be transformed to create wealth," says Prof Henry Thairu, chairman of the Kenya Intellectual Property Institute in charge of Education at the Kenya Private Sector Alliance.

A great disconnect, he says, exists between drivers of research and consumers.

Pilot

As a response, the British Council launched Africa knowledge Transfer Partnerships (AKTP), a pilot initiative to ensure research trickles down to businesses and companies.

It provides a forum where faculty members and companies work together to determine whether or not a technology they develop has immediate commercial value.

It is designed along the lines of a worldwide initiative that helps businesses improve their competitiveness and productivity through better use of knowledge, technology and skills that reside within the higher institutions of learning.

Already there are 2,000 such partnerships between UK companies and academic and research institutions.

The initiative is being piloted in Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and Nigeria.

The project lead consultant, Tony Mitchell, says the aim of the project is to improve the competition, enhance skills of new graduates and students and increase the relevance of research to promote enterprise, innovation and productivity.

The AKTP model involves the identification of clear business opportunities or problems that require knowledge or skills unavailable in a company. Then, a partner with the requisite knowledge is located and a project plan developed.

Eligible projects must be science and technologies based and relate to development of new products that improve efficiency, identify alternative sources of raw materials, introduce quality systems and technology. The partnerships enable learning institutions to understand the challenges faced by companies, which in turn stimulates business-relevant curriculum and new research themes, while companies are linked to technological and scientific knowledge and expertise.

Through the project universities also publish research papers.

A number of partnerships have already been forged. The Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and Verve K O Limited will develop data repositories and an Egerton University and East African Growers partnership will focus on the creation of an efficient farming and product management mechanism to increase crop yields through better use of land resources, pesticides and fertilisers.

The University of Nairobi and Booth Extrusions Ltd collaboration will focus on improving efficiency including optimisation of the anodizing process alongside the university – Mea partnership.