Knowledge Circulation: The ‘Triple Helix’ Concept Applied in South Africa

Abstract

In this article the author looks at knowledge circulation in its literal context, starting from its initial production (creation) by means of research, through the recording/documentation stage to its eventual distribution and circulation. Knowledge circulation and the application of knowledge are essential to a country's economic sustainability The author considers this in the context of South Africa, where industry and the higher education sector, particularly the technikons (equivalent to polytechnics or universities of technology in other countries), are working together more and more closely to bridge an education and skills gap that was mainly created during the Apartheid era. This closer cooperation is largely being achieved by means of the cooperative education model used by the technikons and by a national skills development initiative implemented by the Department of Labour via the Skills Development Act (Act 97 of 1998). The notion of the ‘triple helix’ of interaction between higher education, government and industry, as proposed by Etzkowitz and Leydesdorff, is incorporated into the author's analysis. The ultimate fruit of knowledge is obtained when it is widely circulated and becomes embedded in the minds of people who are able to put it to everyday use – to support themselves and their families and to sustain the economy – and then to go on to produce new knowledge.