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In the mind to market chain, academy, research and industry occupy important spaces. The level of interactions among the trinity does impact the role of education and research in national development. Whereas in developed and technologically advanced social systems, healthy cross- fertilization of activities of academy, research and industrial sectors is evident, in developing and emerging countries, trust-deficits within the trinity are limiting their interactions and national value. What ails the interactions among the trinity of academy, research and industry is a matter of concern to all stakeholders. One of the commonly expressed reasons is that actions among academy, research and industry are in vertical silos without adequate interactions in cross sectional space. For large social impacts, it is not adequate that there exists viable interaction among academy, research and industry alone. Such interactions must mature into mutually gainful partnerships among the trinity.
Factors which ail development of partnerships include cultural setting in which the three players function. Whereas academy operates with a sense of infinite time, research and industry are culturally arranged to reveal a sense of intermediate and immediate, respectively. In other words, cultural dichotomies prevailing among the players need to be bridged using special methods in ancient societies like India. A generic analysis of the challenges and possible solutions would be examined. Whereas many examples for efficient academy-research-industry partnerships might be quoted from other societies, it seems a preferred approach to analyse and understand a working partnership among the trinity of academy-research-industry in the Indian social context. It would not only add credibility to the exercise but may offer also lessons for possible adoption elsewhere. Such models discussed must have worked in longer time space without suffering from usual fluctuations in effectivity; depending on changes in local leaderships. Indian leather sector is one of the good examples for discussing a viable and vibrant academy-research-industry partnership prevailing since 1948. A historical perspective of a partnership prevailing among Academy-Research-Industry in leather sector in India and some consequential benefits would be analysed with a perspective for developing suitable models for vibrant partnerships across the cultural and organizational divides.
Proposed conversation on the theme would be through a total of 3 one-hour long sessions. It would be in three parts with the first part dwelling on the generalities and second part focussing on a specific case study namely Indian leather Sector. The third part would be focusing on some plausible directions for IISER-type organizations which combine academic education and research pursuits in one entity. A discussion on Nation Building roles of IISERs in the framework of partnerships with industry for leveraging knowledge for wealth and value creation would be attempted in the third part.
Since weak interactions among academy, research and industry are not in mutual or national interests, the lecture series would like to analyse plausible treatment of causes rather than to enumerate consequences. Once again it is a discussion on bigger pictures. It will not be an attempt towards prescriptive solutions, although the third interaction might attempt a discussion on “IISER type institutions” gaining high relevance in the development context of India.
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