Research Collaborations in an Academic Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: Insights from a Nigerian University

Abstract

This study utilizes a developed framework for research collaborations to identify the types of collaborations occurring within a university's entrepreneurial ecosystem with 17 faculties, schools, institutes, a Centre for entrepreneurship development, a directorate of Innovation and Technology, and 9 financial institutions, which include conventional and microfinance banks.  The sample consisted of 151 published articles from the proceedings of the 3rd University of Benin Annual Research Conference. Out of the 151 articles, 14 were authored by individuals, 77 were written by authors from the same department, 22 by authors  from different departments within the same faculty, 7 articles were produced by authors from different disciplines, 18  articles involved authors from different universities, , 7 articles stemmed from collaborations between university and industry, 4 articles from university-government collaboration and 2 articles from international collaboration.   The findings reveal a low level of interdisciplinary and inter-institutional research collaborations. Given the promising nature of the university’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, it is recommended that scholars at UNIBEN increase their engagement in interdisciplinary and cross-institutional research collaborations. This approach could enhance the university’s innovative capacity and its ranking in research and development.

Key Words: Interdisciplinary Research collaborations, Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, Innovation