ABSTRACT
IntroductIon In January 2009, the magazine African Executive featured an article with the title, “African Universities Must Fight Poverty.” Upon rst glance, the article may appear non sequitur; could a diagnosis for some of the most impoverished areas of the world be a healthy dose of universities? e article expands the concept by asserting, “Africa needs a strong pan-continental community of researchers to discover resourceful, timely ways to deal with poverty’s many causes” (Muchie 2009). It is not that university research will be an instant cure or the missing link for poverty reduction, but more so, it is a long-term contributor
and creator of new forms of knowledge. Cross-border collaborations in university science and technology research in the service of human capacity have demonstrated the ability of the university to be positioned as one element of poverty reduction. Universities around the globe are seeking to collaborate across borders. is occurs in various forms of cross-border supply, including students, faculty, programs, and other ways. For several decades, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Trade Organization (WTO) have been the center of cross-border collaboration on development projects ranging from infrastructure (roads, dams, and electricity) to health and education. Higher education falls under the purview of these IGOs. In fact, the WTO has included higher education as a tradable commodity that must be regulated by trade agreements. While previous IMF and World Bank policies limited lending for higher education (Collins & Rhoads 2008), the World Bank now oers loans for higher education. ese loans focus on building human capacity, and many are specically directed toward university research with science and technology. During the last decade, international organizations have identied the importance of university science and technology in the knowledge economy, in development, and ultimately in poverty reduction. is chapter evaluates IGOs as a center of cross-border collaboration. With the emergence of the knowledge economy as a backdrop, higher education plays a key role in building human capacity and ultimately in reducing poverty in developing countries. ese concepts are linked through an exploration of World Bank policies in higher education lending, an overview of the knowledge economy and poverty reduction, and an evaluation of cross-border collaborations in university science and technology research in two Bank loan recipients: ailand and Uganda.
