The above discussion demonstrates that although MUK has integrated some aspects of the TM into its budget, academic programmes, appointments and promotions policy and practices for the academic staff and organisational structures, the full institutionalisation of the TM is yet to be achieved; the TM still faces a number of challenges at the university.
Thus, for further institutionalisation of the TM to occur, the university must bolster its current TM efforts, enhance its support and commitment and address the existing challenges.
Council and the University Senate. Accordingly, the university carries out various TM- related activities (see Sections 5.4 and 7.2) and is somehow institutionally committed to promoting the TM—that is, it values the TM, recognises the TM as one of its core functions, supports TM-related activities, has integrated the TM into its curriculum and evaluates and rewards the involvement of the students and academic staff in TM-related activities. However, as the analyses in Section 6.2 and Table 22 show, the institutional commitment of MUK to the TM is far from complete. In essence, there is a need for further support of the TM and for more attention to be paid to the existing challenges to the TM at MUK. A summarised analysis of the institutional commitment of MUK to the TM is presented in Table 22.
Table 22. Institutional Commitment of MUK to the TM Organisational factorExplanationsLevel1 StrengthsUnresolved issues MissionThe promotion of innovation and responsiveness to national needs is a core aspect of the vision and mission of MUKTM not specified in the mission and vision statements of the universityLevel 3: High relevance The TM is defined as an integral aspect of the academic agenda of the institutionThe university’s strategic plan (2008/09–2018/19) defines and recognises partnerships and networking as a core function of the university The university’s strategic plan outlines strategic goals, objectives and performance indicators for partnerships and networking The TM is broadly accepted by the members of the academic staff as a core function of the university Hire and promotion policy and practices The university’s recruitment and promotion policy for academic staff recognises, allocates points to and rewards the contributions of the academic staff to innovation and community service during recruitment and promotion to senior academic positions Lack of clear guidelines about the meaning, documentation and evaluation of community service Inappropriate promotions and rewards system Level 2: medium Relevance Aspects of the TM are mentioned and included among the criteria for promotions but are not clearly defined Organisational structureCentres and multidisciplinary institutes that carry out TM-related activities exist An administrative office, MUPSF, tasked with promoting partnerships existsAbsence of a centralised coordinating office Insufficient staff in the specialised units
Level 3: High relevance Centres, offices and institutes responsible for promoting the TM or providing TM services exist Faculty involvement and commitment
Outreach and engagement are accepted as a role of the academic staff Academic staff is quite knowledgeable about outreach and engagement and recognise them as a core function of the university Policies to foster and support the involvement of the academic staff in TM activities exist (e.g., the IPM policy and the policy for the recruitment and promotion of academic staff) Services to foster innovation and to commercialise inventions exist (e.g., incubation centres and TDTC) Normative consensus about the appropriateness of the TM exists among the academic staff Academic staff is fairly involved in TM-related activities Inadequate formal support, rewards, incentives and ceremonies Work overload Absence of clear guidelines and orientation programmes for the academic staff regarding the documentation and evaluation of innovation and community service Level 3: High relevance Senior academics pursue community- based research and/or teaching
Student involvementField attachment is integrated into undergraduate programmes and linked to students’ learning goals Volunteerism is encouraged as a co-curricular activity for students Opportunities for field attachment and field-based learning exist Incubation and technology transfer services to foster students’ innovativeness exist Exhibitions and open days for students to display their innovations and projects exist Exhibitions and open days are part of the proposed students’ support services Lack of financial support for volunteer and community development work Few opportunities for practical work and extra credit Lack of a broad programme that promotes awareness about the TM among students
Level 2: Medium relevance Opportunities and organised institutional support for volunteerism and community-based learning are limited Community involvementCommunity involvement is recognised and emphasised in the strategic plan (2008/09–2018/19) Selected members of the public sit on the University Council and the University Senate Communities participate in the supervision and evaluation of students’ field attachment University offers and shares some services and facilities to/with the external communities An office tasked with creating and enhancing partnerships with the public and private sectors exists Public lectures are an essential feature of the university College open days and exhibitions are encouraged and open to the public
Lack of organised institutional support for collaborative research Communities not represented on advisory boards for colleges, schools and departments
Level 1: Low relevance Occasional, symbolic or limited individual or group involvement Campus publications and communication
Partnerships and networking are underscored in the strategic plan The contributions of MUK to knowledge transfer partnerships and networking are emphasised in the annual reports of the university Innovations and ongoing TM-related projects are highlighted in the newsletters, brochures, annual reports and other publications of the colleges Media appearances and publications by some academic staff exist Lack of an office to coordinate TM activities and to collect and relay TM- related information to the internal and external communities
Level 2: Medium relevance Stories of staff and students’ volunteerism and contributions to society are emphasised Leadership and supportTM-coordinating units, such as centres and institutes, exist Financial and human resources for the specialised units exist Financial support for TM activities (e.g., field attachment) exists Policies and procedures to guide and support the TM exist (e.g., the guidelines for field attachment, the IPM policy and the policy on the recruitment and promotion of the academic staff) Informal support for the TM exists at the departmental level Leadership is fairly committed to, and supportive of, the TM
Insufficiency of funding and staffingLevel 3: High relevance Institutional support for organisational structures and some TM activities exists 1 The assigned levels are on a scale of 1–4 (low relevance, medium relevance, high relevance and full integration respectively) and they are based on the researcher’s evaluation of the strengths of each institutional attribute in supporting the TM; therefore, they are not objective measurements of the levels of institutional commitment of the university to the TM. Source: Author (based on Holland, 1997; Mohrman, 2010).
The summarised analysis of the institutional commitment of the MUK to the TM presented in Table 22 shows that the university has some administrative, academic and organisational structures, policies, programmes and practices that foster the TM. Such policies, programmes, structures and practices have helped to transform the TM into a legitimate function of the university—that is, the TM is somehow supported and integrated into the budget, the recruitment and promotion of the academic staff, the undergraduate programmes and the organisational structure of the university. In addition, the TM is expected; there is consensus among the academic staff about the appropriateness of the TM, and some members of academic staff are rather knowledgeable about the TM and are involved in TM-related activities. Nevertheless, the TM and TM-related activities at MUK remain insufficiently supported and coordinated.