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• Weak research capacity leads to university-industry partnerships that are limited to a 'Doing, Using, Interacting' model of innovation. • Poor development of human capital with limited resources result in weak university–industry partnerships that are not knowledge-intensive. • Top-down management, coupled with poor research and working environments for university faculty impede university-industry partnerships. This paper examines university–industry partnerships (UIPs) in Kazakhstan. The study described here explored the kinds of collaborations with industry that universities have undertaken, their purposes and benefits, and the contextual barriers to such partnerships. Our findings suggest that UIPs in Kazakhstan remain weak and are largely limited to employers' involvement in teaching, the provision of internships for students, and technical consultancies. We argue that the goal of policy makers to develop robust research partnerships that contribute to innovation and economic growth is constrained by heavy faculty teaching loads, poor institutional support for research, constant reforms in the higher education system, and little consistency in the priorities of the fast-changing Ministers of Education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]