The conference which is inter-disciplinary in orientation will allow for engaged scholarship. The themes will reflect empirical research conducted in partnership with both public and private stakeholders, the goal of which is to address the critical social issues and will hopefully contribute to the general good of society.

Globally, universities are exploring different initiatives of interacting and functioning within the communities they exist. New Generation Universities are forced now more than ever to revisit their roles and relationships with their stakeholders. This is because of the increasing complexities and dynamics of the societies within which they operate.

There has always been a gap between what was offered at institutions and what was demanded by industry. The call is now to explore possible means and methods to bridge that gap. The social context for which education was originally designed has evolved. Therefore it needs to be adapted not only to suit the current age but also strive towards anticipating future changes and adapt accordingly.

Dzulkifli (2008) of University of SAINS Malaysia observed that “Modern society is dominated by industrial mass production of goods and by increased public services in health, education and welfare”. This calls for the redefining of the role of the university. New Generation Universities need to respond to future economies and the forces that drive it.  They now have to engage with their communities and work towards increasing their relevance in those communities. In addition to their traditional mission of teaching, research and community engagement, they have an added mission of transferring technologies and increase industry-university cooperation. This calls for them to relook at their research function to bring it in line with industry needs. Typically, they would determine their strategic plan and their research agenda with a strong and sustained input from external stakeholders.

In order to fulfill the new demands that universities face, they need to do things differently. Their focus would be to operate on a far broader range of programmes than traditional universities. Their curricula would cross the traditional binary divide between universities and polytechnic or technology oriented institutions (Stumpf, 2007).

The conference would provide an excellent opportunity to benchmark local research with international research. It would create the ideal platform for local and international researchers to network. The objectives would be, among others, to host both national as well as international keynote speakers, have panel discussions with concluding exchange/ discussion sessions, have peer-reviewed research presentations and allow opportunity for the sharing of pragmatic ideas and best practices.

The conference would also create the opportunity for multi-, trans- and interdisciplinary research. In addition scholarly and applied research would be promoted. The conference will play a significant role in marketing not only the Vaal University of Technology but also South Africa by creating awareness in both national and international delegates of the various pre- and post tour opportunities available in South Africa.

The conference would be a unique opportunity for practitioners, researchers and scholars to harness interdisciplinary collaboration to improve the accuracy, sophistication and impact of scientific research with regard to technology transfer.

Expected Outcome
Peer- reviewed papers that will be published in conference proceedings
Collaboration between local and international researchers
Papers published in accredited journals