Why the university of the future has to be built on partnerships

By  Larrissa Odini

Corporate communication professional

The past few weeks have brought a heartwarming spectacle within public universities across Kenya. Thousands of new students have arrived at universities, accompanied by their proud parents, guardians and relatives to witness the beginning of a new chapter in their lives.

For some, the journey has also meant discovering a new town or, for the first time, experiencing the bustle of Nairobi, the capital city. The scenes have been encouraging, with packed orientation halls and ‘freshers’ or ‘new comrades’, as they are fondly referred to, finding their way around unfamiliar spaces, a reminder that university education remains a powerful pathway to hope and opportunity.

However, beneath the excitement of every new admission lies a conversation these institutions can no longer postpone. With some universities admitting an estimated 7,000 fresh students and about 43 public universities across the country, the concern is whether the resources required to support this growing student population are adequate.

The pressures are already visible in overcrowded classrooms, dilapidated lecture halls and hostels, strained laboratories, workshops, and libraries, and inadequate digital infrastructure. These are not isolated institutional shortcomings, but indicators of a deeper resource challenge. Undoubtedly, every additional student creates demand for classrooms, lecturers, accommodation, healthcare, learning materials, reliable technology, mentorship, and counselling, all of which are essential for their personal and professional growth.

Intellectual resources

When resources do not match enrolment, the quality of the university experience inevitably comes under pressure. The conversation, therefore, should not be about what these universities lack, but how they can deliberately mobilise the financial, technological, and intellectual resources needed to support their growth.

This is not uniquely a Kenyan challenge. Unesco reports that global higher education enrolment reached 269 million in 2024, more than double the roughly 100 million recorded in 2000. As demand expands, universities worldwide are considering how they are financed and sustained. Income diversification and partnerships are increasingly important, with institutions looking towards third-party funding and other sources of income.

For decades, university resource mobilisation has largely meant government funding, student fees and, occasionally, alumni giving. While these remain important, they no longer adequately define what resource mobilisation should mean for the university of the future.

Income-generating units (IGUs) and activities offer a way to broaden revenue bases by turning existing expertise, facilities, and services into sustainable income streams. From consulting and professional training to research services, conferences, accommodations, and other commercial ventures, universities already possess assets capable of generating value beyond the traditional funding model.

The opportunity is, therefore, to deliberately align them with resource mobilisation. In this regard, resource mobilisation should arguably become embedded in how public universities operate, rather than remain confined to the institutional strategic plan.

The university of the future will, therefore, be more than programmes and large admission numbers. It will be a reservoir of intellectual capital, expertise, talent, and networks, all capable of creating opportunities for growth and impact. In essence, academics will contribute expertise to organisations, while researchers tackle industry challenges. Workshops and laboratories will support external training and research, while students develop ideas into enterprises and alumni extend the universities’ reach through their positions across organisations.

As it stands, public universities possess significant capabilities that are not fully leveraged or communicated to stakeholders who can support, partner, and invest in them. Much of this value remains hidden within lecture halls, departments, conference papers, research reports, and institutional archives, leaving opportunities for resource mobilisation untapped.

Transforming academic expertise

This is where communication comes in. Communication can no longer be limited to press releases, event coverage, photography, and social media updates. It must become part of the university’s value-creation strategy by translating research into compelling narratives, transforming academic expertise into propositions that partners understand, and identifying audiences that can support strategic priorities. Communication must also include crisis communication, because how universities respond to challenges can either strengthen or erode stakeholder confidence.

There is need for universities to rethink resource mobilisation with communication at its core. An institution that understands its stakeholders can communicate with purpose while building relationships beyond transactions. Stakeholders are more likely to invest in an institution whose value and vision they understand. Communication should therefore go beyond sharing the institution's abilities to creating conversations through which resources begin to flow.

Technology provides another significant opportunity whereby stakeholders are encountering universities through digital platforms before they physically encounter their campuses. Universities can use these platforms to showcase their stories, creating new pathways for fundraising and partnerships.

Alumni represent another enormous resource that remains largely untapped. Evidently, Kenya’s public universities have produced generations of graduates now spread across the country and the world, in the public and private sectors. To this effect, universities should focus on building with their alumni rather than asking how much they can give. An alumnus may never write a cheque but may introduce a network, opportunity, or partnership worth more.

Follow our WhatsApp channel for breaking news updates and more stories like this.