Bridging Academia, Industry, and Skills Training

RUFORUM is committed to strengthening partnerships between universities, industry, and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions. We recognize that Africa’s development requires not only knowledge generation but also practical skills, innovation, and enterprise-driven solutions that sustainably meet market and societal needs.

By building strong linkages, RUFORUM supports a holistic ecosystem where research, training, and practice converge to create employment opportunities, drive industrial growth, and contribute to Africa’s socio-economic transformation.

Why Industry and TVET Linkages Matter

• Relevance of Training: Aligns academic curricula with labor market demands and industry priorities.
• Innovation and Technology Transfer: Facilitates co-creation of solutions for agriculture, agribusiness, and emerging sectors.
• • Employment: Equip Africa’s Population with the practical skills needed for entrepreneurship and decent jobs.
• • Industrial Growth: Strengthens the role of universities and TVETs in fostering industrialization and economic competitiveness.
• • Resource Mobilization and sharing: The linkages facilitate collaborative resourcing and effective utilization of under deployed resources.

Our Approach

RUFORUM promotes collaborative partnerships that go beyond traditional academia by:

• Curriculum Co-Development with industry and TVET institutions to ensure relevance and employability.
• Joint Research and Innovation Platforms that bring together researchers, industries, and TVETs to develop scalable solutions.
• Internships, Apprenticeships, and Industrial Placements for students to gain hands-on experience.
• Capacity Strengthening for TVET trainers and industry practitioners to integrate innovation and technology in their fields.
• Employment Transition Support for innovators to be equipped with entrepreneurship skills to transition their ideas into market-ready enterprises.
• Delivering Last mile service in the agricultural and agribusiness-related technologies to enhance agricultural productivity, food security, nutrition and household income