Challenges and opportunities in University-industry collaboration within Ethiopian public higher education system

This study aims to analyze the systemic challenges and opportunities in university-industry collaboration (UIC) within Ethiopia. Employing a pragmatist mixed-methods approach, it integrates a survey of 644 instructors from five public universities with interviews and document analysis involving purposively sampled industry experts and government officials. Using stratified and simple random sampling for university participants, the research identifies a hierarchical model of impediments. Regression analysis reveals that an underdeveloped regulatory framework and misaligned institutional expectations are the primary, statistically significant predictors of collaboration challenges, contextualized by secondary factors including institutional capacity deficits and policy incoherence. Conversely, significant faculty diversity in rank, specialization, and tenure constitutes a foundational, yet underutilized, human capital asset for targeted partnerships. The study concludes that strengthening UIC requires a coordinated, multi-level intervention where governmental policy reform must be synergized with institutional strategies to address core barriers, leverage latent academic expertise, and cultivate a sustainable innovation ecosystem.