University research in development space in the wake of the Sustainable Development Goals: Perspectives for research development in Africa

Research and innovation is a critical and definitive determinant of national and regional economic transformation. Major global economies have developed due to their dominance of the global research and innovation systems. Africa’s match to the competitive global knowledge economy is gradual yet rising. This article provides perspectives into research development in Africa at the backdrop of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It argues that the SDGs have provided a level platform for Africa and African researchers in universities, public research organisations and industry as well as African governments to strengthen research partnerships and collaboration and increase investments so as to build resilient research and innovation systems. Africa’s share of global research output is still limited despite the observed increase to 2.3% in the last decade and so is Africa’s patent fillings and trademark applications at 0.5% of the global consideration. Research impact measured through citations, patent fillings and trademark applications are critical indicators of research quality; Africa must address these shortcomings. Whilst Africa’s global research output is rising, this is principally driven by collaborations and partnerships with United States and Western Europe and less with other African countries, researchers and industries. Further, Africa’s doctoral graduate output is still low compared to that from the OECD countries that in the last decade witnessed a 40% increase. The low output of doctoral graduates in the continent could be attributed to static models of doctoral training, massification of higher education at undergraduate and masters level that do not translate to doctoral enrollment and limited doctoral programmes across disciplinary spectrum in African universities. However, innovations around doctoral training such as the Regional Doctoral Training Programmes in RUFORUM member universities provide evidence of possibility of increase doctoral production in disciplinary and multi-disciplinary spectrum with research quality.