University–industry collaborations (UICs) are increasingly recognized as essential for fostering innovation, skills development, and knowledge transfer. However, in developing countries, these collaborations are often constrained by weak governance structures, limited resources, and lack of sustainability mechanisms. This study aimed to explore the current state of UICs at Uganda Christian University (UCU) and industries in Mukono Municipality, and design an ICT-enabled model to strengthen UICs in developing countries. The study employed a qualitative approach, and data was collected from 21 participants through interviews with university (senior administrators, faculty heads) and representatives from the industry (service, manufacturing, research, and not-for-profit organizations). Insights from General Systems Theory, Collaborative Control Theory and Rybnicek & Königsgruber model, informed thematic analysis. From the analysis, five themes emerged, which are: Nature of Collaborations; Management Structures and Platforms for UICs; Stakeholder Capacity and Readiness for UICs; Information Exchange & Dissemination; Impact and Sustainability of UICs. The study findings revealed that UICs have weak governance & coordination mechanisms, lack sustainability & digital implementation, are largely informal, under-resourced. Internship was seen to be the dominant form of engagement between universities and the industry. This suggests that; adopting ICT-mechanisms improves UIC effectiveness and sustainability. This study therefore proposes a context-sensitive, systems-oriented JMS Model to enhance UIC management in developing countries which contributes to literature and practice.
| Published in | American Journal of Computer Science and Technology (Volume 9, Issue 1) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajcst.20260901.12 |
| Page(s) | 8-18 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group |
University–industry Collaboration, Digital Transformation, ICT-enabled Model, University Education, Developing Countries
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APA Style
Mukalere, J., Kabanda, M., Mukisa, S. (2026). Digital Transformation of University-industry Collaborations: An Information Systems Approach in a Developing Country Context. American Journal of Computer Science and Technology, 9(1), 8-18. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajcst.20260901.12
ACS Style
Mukalere, J.; Kabanda, M.; Mukisa, S. Digital Transformation of University-industry Collaborations: An Information Systems Approach in a Developing Country Context. Am. J. Comput. Sci. Technol. 2026, 9(1), 8-18. doi: 10.11648/j.ajcst.20260901.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ajcst.20260901.12,
author = {Justine Mukalere and Martin Kabanda and Simon Mukisa},
title = {Digital Transformation of University-industry Collaborations: An Information Systems Approach in a Developing Country Context},
journal = {American Journal of Computer Science and Technology},
volume = {9},
number = {1},
pages = {8-18},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajcst.20260901.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajcst.20260901.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajcst.20260901.12},
abstract = {University–industry collaborations (UICs) are increasingly recognized as essential for fostering innovation, skills development, and knowledge transfer. However, in developing countries, these collaborations are often constrained by weak governance structures, limited resources, and lack of sustainability mechanisms. This study aimed to explore the current state of UICs at Uganda Christian University (UCU) and industries in Mukono Municipality, and design an ICT-enabled model to strengthen UICs in developing countries. The study employed a qualitative approach, and data was collected from 21 participants through interviews with university (senior administrators, faculty heads) and representatives from the industry (service, manufacturing, research, and not-for-profit organizations). Insights from General Systems Theory, Collaborative Control Theory and Rybnicek & Königsgruber model, informed thematic analysis. From the analysis, five themes emerged, which are: Nature of Collaborations; Management Structures and Platforms for UICs; Stakeholder Capacity and Readiness for UICs; Information Exchange & Dissemination; Impact and Sustainability of UICs. The study findings revealed that UICs have weak governance & coordination mechanisms, lack sustainability & digital implementation, are largely informal, under-resourced. Internship was seen to be the dominant form of engagement between universities and the industry. This suggests that; adopting ICT-mechanisms improves UIC effectiveness and sustainability. This study therefore proposes a context-sensitive, systems-oriented JMS Model to enhance UIC management in developing countries which contributes to literature and practice.},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Digital Transformation of University-industry Collaborations: An Information Systems Approach in a Developing Country Context AU - Justine Mukalere AU - Martin Kabanda AU - Simon Mukisa Y1 - 2026/02/02 PY - 2026 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajcst.20260901.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ajcst.20260901.12 T2 - American Journal of Computer Science and Technology JF - American Journal of Computer Science and Technology JO - American Journal of Computer Science and Technology SP - 8 EP - 18 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2640-012X UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajcst.20260901.12 AB - University–industry collaborations (UICs) are increasingly recognized as essential for fostering innovation, skills development, and knowledge transfer. However, in developing countries, these collaborations are often constrained by weak governance structures, limited resources, and lack of sustainability mechanisms. This study aimed to explore the current state of UICs at Uganda Christian University (UCU) and industries in Mukono Municipality, and design an ICT-enabled model to strengthen UICs in developing countries. The study employed a qualitative approach, and data was collected from 21 participants through interviews with university (senior administrators, faculty heads) and representatives from the industry (service, manufacturing, research, and not-for-profit organizations). Insights from General Systems Theory, Collaborative Control Theory and Rybnicek & Königsgruber model, informed thematic analysis. From the analysis, five themes emerged, which are: Nature of Collaborations; Management Structures and Platforms for UICs; Stakeholder Capacity and Readiness for UICs; Information Exchange & Dissemination; Impact and Sustainability of UICs. The study findings revealed that UICs have weak governance & coordination mechanisms, lack sustainability & digital implementation, are largely informal, under-resourced. Internship was seen to be the dominant form of engagement between universities and the industry. This suggests that; adopting ICT-mechanisms improves UIC effectiveness and sustainability. This study therefore proposes a context-sensitive, systems-oriented JMS Model to enhance UIC management in developing countries which contributes to literature and practice. VL - 9 IS - 1 ER -
Computing and Technology, Uganda Christian University, Mukono, Uganda
Business Administration, Uganda Christian University, Mukono, Uganda
Economics and Statistics, Uganda Christian University, Mukono, Uganda
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