The emergence of the so-called knowledge-based economy worldwide from 1980s onwards has redefined universities as important tools for economic growth and development. Universities are expected to produce economically useful knowledge. In this sense, university-productive sector collaboration is considered to be essential in ensuring that universities produce relevant knowledge for growth. In developed and emerging economies, research seems to demonstrate strong university-productive sector collaboration. This has fostered the assumption that economic development in developing countries requires strong investment in higher education, particularly in areas of knowledge that are thought to be more relevant, namely the hard sciences as opposed to soft sciences.

In Africa, despite current recognition of the socio-economic relevance of universities, there is no systematic and reliable evidence to support this assumption. The government of Mozambique has made this assumption its own and has favored policies emphasizing the socio-economic relevance of universities. However, it seems that the idea that universities are economically relevant is simply taken for granted. This research seeks to critically question these assumptions, by examining data collected on the issue and by producing more comprehensive data on university-productive sector collaboration in Mozambique.The aim is to reflect on the stage of university-productive sector collaboration in Mozambique, particularly to compare the stage of university-productive sector collaboration between hard sciences and soft sciences departments.