Title: The University-Industry Relations in Latin America: The Misuse of Foreign Models? This article examines how Bolivian lecturers respond to the debate on the production of knowledge and its transfer to the productive sector and its implications for the transformation of Latin American universities. The empirical analysis is based on a survey of 349 lecturers from Bolivian public universities, which inquired into aspects of university-industry relations (UIR). Although the results indicate that lecturers are in favour of relations with firms, there are several barriers to such relationships, such as lack of institutional support, generally unfavourable atmosphere in universities, and an industrial structure comprising few firms in knowledge-intensive sectors and firms with low absorptive capacity. In the context of Bolivia, unlike what occurs in developed countries, UIR have been configured around scientifically unimportant activities which has had a negative effect on the consolidation of research.Este artículo examina cómo se sitúa la comunidad académica boliviana en el debate sobre la producción y transferencia de conocimiento al sector productivo y las implicaciones que tiene en la transformación universitaria latinoamericana. El análisis empírico se basa en una encuesta contestada por 349 docentes de universidades públicas bolivianas, en la que se indagaban diversos aspectos sobre las relaciones universidad-empresa (RUE). Aunque los resultados indican una actitud favorable de los docentes para relacionarse con las empresas existen diversos obstáculos que limitan el desarrollo de dicha relación, tales como un soporte institucional deficiente, un ambiente universitario desfavorable y un tejido industrial con pocas empresas en sectores intensivos en conocimiento y con una baja capacidad de absorción. En el contexto analizado, a diferencia de lo que ocurre en los países desarrollados, las RUE se ha configurado en torno a actividades científicamente poco relevantes lo que a su vez ha incidido negativamente en la consolidación de la investigación como actividad académica.Title: The University-Industry Relations in Latin America: The Misuse of Foreign Models? This article examines how Bolivian lecturers respond to the debate on the production of knowledge and its transfer to the productive sector and its implications for the transformation of Latin American universities. The empirical analysis is based on a survey of 349 lecturers from Bolivian public universities, which inquired into aspects of university-industry relations (UIR). Although the results indicate that lecturers are in favour of relations with firms, there are several barriers to such relationships, such as lack of institutional support, generally unfavourable atmosphere in universities, and an industrial structure comprising few firms in knowledge-intensive sectors and firms with low absorptive capacity. In the context of Bolivia, unlike what occurs in developed countries, UIR have been configured around scientifically unimportant activities which has had a negative effect on the consolidation of research.