University-business cooperation in Kazakhstan: influencing factors

Abstract

The importance of collaboration between universities and business (UBC) continues to grow in all
countries. The reasons for this are numerous, such as changes in innovation structures, the development
of the knowledge society, and national and international higher education policies. Kazakhstan,
as a rapidly developing country, is experiencing all these changes. Nowadays, activities of university
are evolving from the basic functions of teaching and research to commercialisation of research results
where the partnership with the private sector is one of the most important elements. The purpose of the
article is to identify influencing factors, driving factors and barriers for UBC, as well as recommendations
for the future. The data for analysis was obtained using an online survey. The survey was conducted
among University employees and company employees. More than 100 respondents took part in the
survey. The results of the survey show that the main factors influencing the cooperation of universities
and business: sources of funding, innovative indicators of universities, the impact of funding sources on
control mechanisms and innovative activities of universities, also, the likely reason for the lag is the slow
and still incomplete transition of Kazakhstan from the “traditional” innovation system to the modern innovation
ecosystem.