Development studies is now seventy years old. Innovation studies is nearly forty years old. Development studies is aging and innovation studies is reaching adulthood. The linking of development studies with innovation studies emerged at an international conference on African Innovation and Competence Building Systems held in March, 2001 in Aalborg, Denmark.  Subsequently, “The Putting Africa First: The Making of African Innovation Systems” book came out in 2003 when the first Globelics conference was launched in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The new field of development and innovation studies has now been on the research agenda for over half a generation.

The explicit incorporation of knowledge, invention and innovation to revitalize and make dynamic the development debate by adding new and fresh perspectives and directions has become now vital   in the search for the paths of development and structural transformation in developing economies.    The creative combination of innovation and development is expected to generate new insights and approaches in addressing the development challenges of all developing economies in the Global South. Human capital, education and research capability to synergize innovation and development are critical. The contributions in this edited book highlight the significance of building education, human capital and research capability towards unifying innovation with development in order to promote structural innovative transformation and sustainable development particularly in Africa.

“Economic development requires innovation, in the sense of the introduction of new ways of doing things, across a broad front. Increasingly the kind of innovation that is needed draws significantly of competences in science and technology. Education, Human Capital and Research Capacity for African Innovative Development is very important in illuminating how and why such competencies needs to be built in African countries, and what is needed to make the effort more effective.”
--Professor Richard Nelson, Columbia University, New York, USA

"Africa's capacity to carry out research on problems facing the continent is growing. But it still faces numerous challenges in building a strong and vibrant base of higher education, human capital and research that help promote innovation in order to have an impact on development. This books is a valuable resource on understanding the challenges and opportunities faced by African governments towards building strong human capital and research in Africa."
--Linda Nordling, Editor of Research Africa

"Relatively strong economic growth in Africa could provide a springboard for improved social and economic wellbeing in the region. For this building a strong human capital and research base is imperative. Studies that explore the importance and relevance of this to Africa's challenges are badly needed and this book is a welcome addition to research in this area."
--Professor Joanna Chataway, Open University Press, UK

ABOUT THE EDITORS
MAMMO MUCHIE is a DST/NRF Research Professor in Science, Technology and Innovation for Development as Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) in Pretoria, South Africa.  He is also NRF rated Research professor and member of the African Academy of Sciences and the South African Academy of Sciences.

ANGATHEVAR BASKARAN is an Associate Professor at the Department of Development Studies, FEA, University of Malaya, Malaysia & Senior Research Associate, SHARChI (Innovation and Development), Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa.  

CATEGORY
Technology, Science & Innovation Studies/AFRICA                    

PUBLICATION YEAR
2017

PAGE COUNT
280 Pages