Trinidad and Tobago is particularly reliant on the hydrocarbon sector to sustain its economy. Such reliance often requires new and innovative approaches to achieve a competitive advantage. One such approach explores the notion that University-Industry collaboration, aimed at increasing the level of technological innovation and subsequent commercialisation of academic research, may prove advantageous in transitioning from an e?ciency-driven economy to an innovation-driven economy.

The commercialisation cycle at universities is hampered by administrative burdens, bureaucratic procedures and financial constraints, risking a successful outcome. The consequences of this result in the loss of government investment in research and development. The return on investment is important for the economic prosperity, regional benchmarking and global competitiveness of Trinidad and Tobago. This study will therefore aim to analyse the environment, degree, reasons for and consequences of the gap between university academic research and the commercialisation thereof. Overall, it will investigate why the rate of commercialisation of academic research and innovation at local universities remains so low and suggest strategies to increase same.

The study will provide an understanding of the innovation cycle at universities and its successful conveyance to industry for commercialisation. Furthermore, it will guide e?orts undertaken by universities to convert academic research and innovation into tangible outcomes, and the subsequent challenges associated with the process. It will o?er conclusions on why the research culture of universities in Trinidad and Tobago appear to su?er from a lag in commercialisation, resulting in little or no return on investments to the university, the inventor and the national economy.

A case study approach utilising mixed methods was deemed appropriate for two reasons; firstly, to capitalise on the in-depth feedback from semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and, secondly, to gather generalised data pertinent to a sample population of subject-matter experts, innovators, inventors, patent holders, and academic personnel within Trinidad and Tobago’s research universities. Semi-structured surveys will be disseminated to all relevant academic stakeholders in Trinidad and Tobago’s research universities as a means of quantitative data collection. This varied method will be applied to compensate for the deficiencies of any singular approach.

Mr. DINESH SOODEEN is a Senior Instructor in the Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship (MME) Unit at The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT). He is pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Entrepreneurial Studies with a focus on Academic Entrepreneurship at Higher Education Institutions in Trinidad and Tobago. Dinesh intends to use action research as an emerging method to investigate the low commercialisation rate of innovative laboratory research at these higher education institutions. His research is specific to academic entrepreneurs and aims to develop a quantitative model to rank and prioritise the commercial potential of science and technology laboratory outputs for successful conveyance to markets.

He holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Industrial Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Management from UTT, a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Business Management from the University of Sunderland, and is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) with extensive experience in auditing, accounting, management and finance. Additionally, Mr Soodeen was designated Chartered Accountant (CA) status by The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Trinidad and Tobago (ICATT) in 2016.

His programme of research includes undergraduate research project supervision and, related to the MME Unit’s Entrepreneurship and Research portfolio, the areas of innovation, entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, business strategy and finance. He has delivered workshops, served as a consultant and co-authored a number of peer-reviewed journal articles. He also presented at a conference on Emerging Trends in Engineering and Technology in 2020.