InnoTalk 15: Industry academia government partnership for national innovation

काठमाडौं ।

Nepal needs drastic education policy changes to bring Practical experiences for students for innovation, industry demands skilled human resources.

Dr. Iswor Bajracharya, Coordinator, NIDN Dr. Bajracharya welcomed attendees to the 15th session of InnoTalk, emphasizing NAST’s commitment to fostering innovation through grants and initiatives. Since 2020, NAST has disbursed over NPR 30 million to support innovators, including NPR 1 million each to five individuals this year.

He highlighted the National Innovation Digital Network (NIDN), established as a collaborative platform for innovators and funders. The session’s theme, “Connecting Industry and Academia,” focused on leveraging academia to solve industry challenges and promote mutual growth.

Er. Uttam Pudasaini, Executive Director, NAXA explained the inception of NIDN during the pandemic to map innovations across Nepal. The platform connects 75 registered innovators with industry representatives and donors, providing a centralized resource for collaboration and support. He encouraged more innovators to join the platform to benefit from potential opportunities.

The panel explored the collaboration between academia, industry, and government, addressing challenges such as funding, curriculum design, and practical training. Er. Manisha Maharjan, Divisional Engineer, Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology stressed the importance of funding academia for research and commercialization, Nepal Government working on finalizing STI Act.

She alsp highlighted policy gaps and challenges in fostering industry-academia collaboration, such as the need for supportive registration policies and export standards in industries like tea production and advocated for academic curricula to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship. Likewise, she shared Nepal Government’s ambition to register at least 500 patent by 2030 in its 16th year plan.

Er. Raj Kumar Chaulagain, Assistant Campus Chief, Thapathali Campus discussed academia’s role as research centers and the gap in industry-academia collaboration as there are already more than 4000 students doing 1000 different projects in a year opening up possibilities for Innovation.

He further shared the current progress on IOE for 6 weeks internship provision for Engineers opening up opportunities for industry exposure and even highlighted the need for curriculum revisions to align with industry demands and promote practical learning through internships and projects. He also suggested government intervention to support innovation through better policies and streamlined processes.

Ram Prasad Rimal, Founder, RamLaxman Innovation highlighted the lack of coordination among academia, industry, and government and provided suggestions for exposure of students to industry from the year 1 and stressed in transferring the knowledge of Patenting and IP among innovators to expand the number of Patent and IP acquired.

He further pointed out the inadequacy of existing internship programs in preparing students for industry needs and stressed the importance of welcoming and nurturing new innovations through collaboration and funding.

In Q&A session, participants raised concerns about fostering innovation mindsets, enhancing policy frameworks, and bridging the gap between academic and practical knowledge. They recommended introducing guest lectures, revising curricula, and encouraging project-based learning to address these issues.

Among several thoughtful questions, a notable one was posed by Anubhab Sharma, a student, to Er. Raj Kumar Chaulagain and Er. Manisha Maharjan: He questioned the disconnect between theoretical knowledge and practical skills in academia.

He proposed restructuring curricula to include equal emphasis on theory and practice, reducing theory-heavy classes to enable more hands-on learning. He also highlighted issues such as ineffective project monitoring and lack of competition among students.

Sharma pointed out that academia should better connect students to industry and government, serving as a bridge for skill development and career opportunities. The panel acknowledged these gaps and emphasized the need for reforms to create a more balanced and industry-relevant education system along with encouraging project-based learning and internships in all fields.

Sneha Shah from The Asia Foundation underlined the transformative potential of partnerships between academia, industry, and government. She praised NIDN’s achievements in uniting almost 100 innovators and emphasized the importance of continued collaboration to drive innovation and progress.

Er. Hirendra Man Pradhan called for a reimagining of Nepal’s education system to prioritize practical, project-based learning by adapting the global changed credit hours for the students and redesign curricula to better prepare students for real-world challenges. He also called for higher level discussion to revise the education policy based on current needs.