REQUIRED MODES OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FOR UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP IN ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION PROGRAMME IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

The purpose of this study was to determine the many ways in which Electrical/Electronics Technology Education Programmes (EETE) at universities in Northern Nigeria can collaborate with existing industries in the area for research and development. The study used a mixed method research (MMR) design. 101 respondents made up the study's population. These included individuals from the industry working in the field of electrical and electronic technology as well as lecturers from nine Northern Nigerian universities that provide courses in EETE. Because the population was small and controllable, the complete research population was included in the sample. For the purpose of gathering qualitative and quantitative data, respectively, the University-Industry Partnership Interview Guide (UIPIG) and University-Industry Partnership Questionnaire (UIPQ) were utilised. The reliability of the UIPIG and UIPQ was established through Member Checking and Cronbach Alpha respectively. Thematic analysis was used to answer the research question qualitatively, mean statistic and standard deviation was used to answer the research question quantitatively, while t-test statistics was used to test the null hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. Qualitative data was obtained from 10 interview participants while quantitative data was obtained from 38 lecturers and 43 industry professionals, totalling 81 respondents from whom questionnaire was retrieved. Findings of the study revealed that industries are ready to collaborate with Electrical/Electronics Technology Education programme in research and development through a partnership that involves contract research, industry consulting, joint research, prototype development, and research publications. It was recommended that the Directorate of Research, Development, and Innovation in the university should encourage regular research conferences and publications to disseminate findings and innovations that benefit both academic and industry communities. Lecturers of EETE should also make efforts to proposed ideas that will lead to joint research between EETE staff and industry.