Even though a lot of goes on in universities not much attention is paid to the implementation of results.

Universities play an important part in socio-economic development, thanks to their triple role of training, production of knowledge through research and social services. Even though a lot of research is going on at the level of universities in universities not much attention is paid to the implementation of results. Recent studies on the governance of university research by the Research Centre for International Development (CDRI) show that structures for the management, coordination and promotion of research are either weak non-existent. It is in this light that a one-day workshop on the governance of university research in Cameroon took place in Yaounde yesterday October 20. Organised by the Educational Research Network for West and Central Africa (ROCARE) the workshop brought together 20 participants from universities, partner ministries and research centres in the country.

Speaking during the opening, the Technical Adviser Number Two in the Ministry of Higher Education, Jean Paul Komon, called on the participants to come out with concrete proposals so that research in Cameroonian universities will be readable, visible and implemented. He expressed hope that at the end of the workshop research will be the pivot of the triangle of growth which comprises universities, industries and companies.

The objective of the workshop was to get the inputs of stakeholders in universities and research centres on the relationship between university research and the business world particularly as it concerns the transfer of innovations. Discussions focused on topics such as “University procedures in the evaluation of the needs of potential users,” “Consultation of potential users in the definition of the priories of university research,” among others.