Assessing Barriers and Challenges to University-food Industry Collaboration in Iran: A Qualitative Analysis of Stakeholder Perspectives

Background and Objectives: The food industry, as one of the country key industries, needs effective interaction with universities to improve the quality of its products and services.Regarding lack of studies in this area, this qualitative study aimed to identify challenges and obstacles to collaborations between universities and the food industry from the perspective of stakeholders and experts in this field in Iran. Material and methods:The study population consisted of faculty members and experts from various organizations linked to the research topic, including universities, the Standard Organization, the Food and Drug Administration, and food industry professionals across the country.Participants were selected using purposeful sampling technique with maximum diversity.Totally, 39 participants were involved in the study.Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed thematically using MAXQDA 2020 software.Results: This study identified four major categories of barriers hindering university-industry interactions as cultural and attitudinal, structural and organizational, knowledge and skill, and economic challenges.Prejudices and misunderstandings, differences in priorities and missions, infrastructure weaknesses, gaps between academic education and research and industry needs, and conflicts of economic interests, including in the areas of intellectual characteristics and commercialization, are the most important challenges that delay effective collaborations between these two entities. Conclusion:The findings reveal that strengthening university-industry collaborations necessitates fundamental changes in attitudes, infrastructure and practices.To achieve this goal, it is critical that policymakers and managers in universities and industries focus on decreasing biases, facilitating knowledge and technology transfer, strengthening collaborative studies and investing entrepreneurship education.