A MODEL OF A RESEARCH AND ENTREPRENEURIAL UNIVERSITY FOR DEVELOPING NATIONS: THE CASE OF NILE UNIVERSITY

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1 A MODEL OF A RESEARCH AND ENTREPRENEURIAL UNIVERSITY FOR DEVELOPING NATIONS: THE CASE OF NILE UNIVERSITY TAREK M. KHALIL President of Nile University, Egypt tkhalil@nu.edu.eg Copyright 2015 by the President of Nile University. Permission granted to IAMOT to publish and use. ABSTRACT Education is the most important sector influencing development of nations. The experience of the USA, several European countries, and more recently of South Korea, India and China are but few examples of the positive influence gained from attention to education on economic growth and improvement of the standards of living. All components of the education system chain from preschool to primary, secondary, tertiary and graduate education are important. Higher education, however, can provide greater value added particularly when combined with research and innovation. Research universities have a significant role to play in this regard particularly if combined with an entrepreneurial culture. Research entrepreneurial universities not only participate in education and dissemination of knowledge but also create knowledge and innovations. They give special attention to technology transfer and entrepreneurship with direct impact on economic return and development. Developing countries and in particular African countries face many challenges that must be addressed without delay. These include education, health care, transportation, logistics, security, information and communication, energy, water supplies, environment and many more. Research entrepreneurial universities consider these challenges as fertile opportunities to tackle through relevant curricula, research and technology transfer. This paper presents a model of a new university established recently in Egypt called Nile University (NU). This model can be a useful one for similar effort in Africa and many developing countries. The author relies on personal experience gained in establishing the University in Egypt where he serves as founding president. The model is an independent, nonprofit research and entrepreneurial institution of higher learning. The university conceptual design is based on the management of technology philosophy for development and wealth creation. The university philosophy in Education, research and focus on graduate education is explained. The emphasis on entrepreneurship education and promotion qualifies it to be a truly entrepreneurial university. Key words: Education, culture of knowing, learning culture, Research university, entrepreneurship, development, wealth creation, innovation. BACKGROUND Egypt with a population of about 90 million people is the most populous country in the Middle East and one of the largest in Africa. Egypt is a developing country with an exploding population that has put severe stresses on it educational and economic systems. Even though the country has been recognized as a traditional leader in education for the region its educational and economic systems have suffered seriously over the past 4 decades because of wars, population explosion and mismanagement of its average national assets. Illiteracy about 30% and is higher among women UNESCO,2015. While education is free by law, it suffers from limited resources and lacks the quality Page 1520

2 that is demanded by modern societies. Many graduates of the current system do not master the skills needed by the market place and as a consequence they become unemployed or underemployed creating pressures on the socio economic system. Until recently higher education was delivered by two types of universities, public ones controlled by the government or private ones controlled by investors. The public ones are well established but suffer from overcrowding and lack of resources whereas the private ones are small, do not have adequate faculty resources and some may aim more for profit as they are established as business endeavors and controlled by investors. Both types of institutions are serving education needs within the constraints imposed by their governance. Research is conducted in public universities and to a much lesser extent in private ones and the same goes for post graduate education. Both research and graduate studies are not given high priority in most universities as undergraduate education is given the top priority. Only one university (Cairo University with a population of more than 100,000 students) appears in the Shanghai ranking list of top 500 universities (Shanghai Ranking of World Universities,2014). Some community leaders and government officials recognized that there is a gap that needs to be filled through promoting a third type of universities to be independently governed, nonprofit, and research oriented thus the idea of Nile University (NU) in Cairo. This model is very common in the west and in fact most top universities in the world such as Harvard, Stanford, MIT..etc follow this non profit independent model. Nile University (NU) was established in 2006 through a public private partnership with a vision to be a world class research institution of higher learning committed to excellence in education and research. Nile University became the first national (Ahleya), non governmental and non profit university in Egypt in the 21 st century. NU mission is to contribute to the development of the technology driven economies in Egypt and the region through the pursuit of education and research at the highest levels of excellence. To fulfill its vision and mission NU had to focus on three major pillars towards that end: Excellence in education, relevant applied research, innovation and entrepreneurship. These are the three pillars of modern universities. NU EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY The existing education system in Egypt is based on a culture of knowing. It is based on highly structured fixed curricula, traditional classroom environment with old blackboard instructions, very large numbers in classrooms and lectures, do as you told environment with suppression of free thought and argument, rote learning and standard final paper exam for all. To change this culture NU committed to creating a learning culture. The type of education that focuses on learning how to learn, promotes free expression, creativity, harnessing information from all sources rather than one way lecturing by professors, team projects, use of technology in education, and calls for small numbers in classrooms and lectures. NU is a leader in technology and business education in Egypt and the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region. Its business and technology based programs and research centers are designed to address critical areas of vital importance to the economic growth and prosperity of the people of Egypt and the region and to engage in cutting edge applied research. Page 1521

3 The university also adopted a three pronged approach as depicted in Figure 1, to implement its educational vision and mission. The first is focusing on limited number of relevant programs that address the country s future needs and that permit graduates to be employed in a competitive global marketplace. This is accompanied by benchmarking the best institutions in the world in each program and when feasible, establishing partnership with institutions that deliver such programs. The second prong is to establish international collaborative efforts with recognized universities and research institutions and to attract expatriates and international faculty to collaborate or teach at NU. The third prong is to establish strong ties with the industrial and business community for mutual benefit. In their relationship emphasis is given to increasing internship opportunities, conducting sponsored research, promoting innovation, entrepreneurship and competitiveness. MOT Business Software engineering Network security Embedded systems Wireless Uniqueness Programs NU Industry Multinationals Egyptian companies SMEs IT Communication Electronics Other Expatriates & International Partnerships Sabbaticals Returning Expats Overseas Cooperation & Strategic Partnerships Figure 1: A three pronged Approach for implementation NU offers programs leading to Diplomas, Masters and PhD degrees and a strategic set of undergraduate programs in selected areas as well as executive education and professional development programs. NU s graduate programs are offered in collaboration with international partners that are distinguished in their respective fields. NU Research Philosophy Nile University positions itself as Egypt s Research University, elaborating that a research university is a category of Institutions of Higher Education engaging in extensive research activity and that: Offer a range of baccalaureate programs Are committed to graduate education through the doctorate Give high priority to research and as such create and produce new knowledge not just disseminate existing knowledge Page 1522

4 Award Doctoral degrees Receive research funding from government and other public and private entities Research at Nile University targets areas and challenges of strategic importance to the nation and aiming to drive growth for technology driven economies in Egypt and the region. Egypt has many challenges and problems that need immediate attention. Some of those are shown in the figure 2 below. NU researchers view those problems to be opportunities for researchers to contribute solutions direly needed. While all types of research are important and needed, the reality of financial constraints and weak infrastructure and development systems in Egypt and many developing countries compels a logical conclusion giving priority to applied research. This type of research concentrates on solving pressing problems needing immediate attention and produces faster and less risky return on investments. Basic research requires more time, effort, development infrastructure and financial resources to reap its benefits. NU Research Philosophy Click to edit Master title style Click to edit Master title style Agriculture Pest & Virus Technology Environment Click to Resistance plays an important role in edit addressing Master subtitle all these style problems opportunities Energy Health Cardiac Disease Transportation Accident Prevention Figure 2: NU Research Philosophy NU Research at the Service of the Click Community to edit Master title style Click to edit Master title style Inter-disciplinary Same core skill-set required Click Interrelated to edit Master challenges subtitle style Figure 3: Applied Research that serves the community Page 1523

5 Research at Nile University targets areas and challenges of strategic importance to the nation (Figure 3) and aiming to drive growth for technology driven economies in Egypt and the region. Applying state of the art technology and capitalizing on strategic academic and industry partners that are leaders in their field, NU s applied research topics address areas such as: Healthcare: Mobile healthcare, diagnosis and networking using sensors, cardiac and retinal medical imaging, personalized medicine, cancer diagnosis and drug delivery using nanotechnology, remote surgery,.. Agriculture and Crops: Decoding buffalo genome and palm tree genomes, big data analysis, Intelligent and precision agriculture systems,.. Traffic and vehicles: Intelligent traffic monitoring, wireless vehicular networks, smart traffic cameras,.. Energy and Water: Water purification and desalination using nanotechnology, energy harvesting and scavenging, improving efficiency of solar cells using microelectronics, optimizing energy usage & leveraging renewable energy, cloud based management of urban water systems Software and Communications: 4G Mobile phone technology and application, LTE, relaying, white space, interference management, educational games and elearning, virtual reality, resource allocation in networks,.. Social Applications: Data and text mining, social trends analysis, sentiment analysis,.. Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness: Technology transfer, mapping Egyptian entrepreneurship eco system, managing Innovation, assessment of national innovation system, competitiveness of Egyptian enterprises with emphasis on SMEs, sustainable and lean manufacturing, NU AS AN ENTREPRENEURIAL UNIVERSITY Egypt and every country seeking to develop its economy must strive to be a knowledge society, creative, innovative producing science, technology and innovations necessary for development and wealth creation. This requires building infrastructure and a national innovation system of high efficiency. It requires improving educational systems, encouraging creativity and innovation, reform of regulatory and legal structure all aiming to facilitate innovation, production and export. Recognizing that there are always limited resources, the focus should be on priority areas for each country. A modern university role in this regard is vital. Universities should not only create and disseminate knowledge but should also see to it that this knowledge benefits society by applying such knowledge and bringing it to markets. This is accomplished through technology transfer and promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. The university engagement in creating value added goods and services results in economic benefit to the university and the country. NU is bringing this message to the country through its interdisciplinary programs of research and its management of technology focus and programs. The message is spread throughout the university and its teachings. In fact it has been imbedded in the design of the university academic structure, which follows the management of technology philosophy as shown in the figures 4 and 5 below. An important component in the success of an entrepreneurial university is its ability to motivate and unleash students creativity and innovative capabilities. This is accomplished by removing barriers to Page 1524

6 creativity, freedom of thought and expression and encouraging ideas to sprout at all levels from undergraduates, graduates and faculty. Other components include designing interdisciplinary programs and activities and adopting an open door policy amongst students, faculty and administrators facilitating flow of ideas, conducting entrepreneurship forums and competitions and encouraging students to participate in them. Also adopting progressive intellectual protection rights policy, pushing ideas to become marketable projects, helping incubate startups and assisting in finding financial resources for spin offs. Wealth Creation is Integration of Technology and Business Business Technology Wealth Creation (MOT) Business Discipline-based knowledge Engineering Systems Available Technologies Strategic/Long-Term Issues Relating Technology Science and Technology Policy Process of Technological Innovations R&D Management R&D Infrastructure and Technological Change Technological Entrepreneurship and New Ventures Product/Process Life Cycles Technological Forecasting and Planning Technological Innovations and Strategic Planning Technology Transfer International Technology Transfer and the role of Multinational Corporations Finance Marketing Business Policy/Strategy Control/Accounting Organizational behavior Human Resource Management Production and Operations Management International Trade Microeconomics Figure 4: Management of Technology as a Key to Wealth Creation and Development (Khalil, 2000) Engineering Schools NU Schools Communication & Information Technology Engineering & Applied Sciences Petroleum & Mining Graduate Programs MSc, PhD Continuing Education & Professional Training Undergraduate Graduate School of Management of Technology Business Foundation: Marketing, Management, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Technology Specialization Courses A B C D E F A: IT B: Communication C: School of Business Administration Graduate Programs MBA, PhD Continuing Education & Professional Training Undergraduate Figure 5: Implementation of MOT philosophy is a university structure Page 1525

7 A special focus is also given through the Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness (IECC). The center is engaged in many of the university activities in intellectual property protection, entrepreneurship promotion and training at the university and across the country, technology transfer and incubation needs. The University is also collaborating with institutions that have incubation capabilities and may consider developing its own incubator at a later stage. There is also a strong and important tie with Egypt s main business park, the Smart Village which together with the university capabilities constitute important elements of a technology park or Technopolis. The operating model of the entrepreneurial university is depicted on the figure shown below. Operating as an Entrepreneurial University Click to edit Master title style CORE KNOWLEDGE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP ICT Click MOT to edit Master title style Business Eng. & Applied Science (Energy, Petroleum & Mining Eng.) Wireless Networks Boinformatics Medical Imaging Interdisciplinary Business-driven Click to edit Mechatronics Master subtitle style Programs Nanoelectronics Nanotechnology... SME s Incubation Technology Transfer Intellectual Property KNOWLEDGE VALUE CREATION VALUE HARVESTING Figure 6: Operating as an Entrepreneurial university Core knowledge is generated and disseminated in the various schools and programs. Research conducted at the research centers of NU and by graduate students provides new knowledge and added value that deserve exploitation. Harvesting results occur through preservation of intellectual property rights, taking technology to markets, spin offs in small enterprises or other methods of technology exploitation that brings financial or social benefits Figure 6 is an illustration of this concept. Coaching, mentoring and incubation may be needed for young researchers, faculty and students and this is facilitated through the innovation, entrepreneurship and competitiveness center s (IECC) programs. The entrepreneurial university is one that acts in an entrepreneurial way, encourages entrepreneurship and produces entrepreneurs. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUDING REMARKS All countries are striving to develop their economies and raise the standard of living and quality of life for their citizens. Many developing countries however have greater hurdles because of lower knowledge base and lack of strong institutional structure. Countries that put strong emphasis on Page 1526

8 improving education and research infrastructure have been successful in their development efforts and have shown more and faster progress than those that are slower in charting that course. Examples include South Korea, India, China, Singapore, and Brazil. In fact the USA which possesses the lead position among the world economies (The World Bank data, 2014) has relied to a great extent on the quality of its higher education institutions, research establishment, and technological prowess keep its leadership and competitive posture in the world. Establishing a research university in a developing country espousing the MOT philosophy of wealth creation and competitiveness can certainly make an impact on development. It can help bridge the knowledge and technology gap and promote innovation and entrepreneurship as pillars of progress. The establishment of Nile University in Egypt is an actual implementation of this philosophy and serves as a model to be pursued by developing countries. The experience gained has proven to be both challenging and rewarding. It showed that using a management of technology point of view in setting up such a university is very feasible and important. The successes obtained are significant and visible. Yet the challenges are many particularly in a troubled region such as the Middle East. Progress is impeded by forces beyond control in many instances including revolutions, wars, terrorism and financial challenges. But the cause is worth pursuing as there are no alternative exist if progress and development are desired. Education, research and innovation are the foundation of progress, development, competitiveness, wealth creation and prosperity. REFERENCES Khalil, Tarek. (2000) Management of Technology: The Key to Competitiveness and Wealth Creation, Mc Graw Hill Book Company, New York, NY. Shanghai Ranking of World Universities, (2014), The World Bank data, (2014), UNESCO, (2015), Page 1527