knowledge, innovation & entrepreneurship: the role of universities - andrea-rosalinde hofer
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KNOWLEDGE, INNOVATION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP:THE ROLE OF UNIVERSITIES
Andrea-Rosalinde Hofer, OECD Trento Centre [email protected]
Outline
1. Innovation activity of firms
2. U-B links
3. HEInnovate
Innovation activity of firms
• Non-linear and continous process• Firms couple innovation activity, e.g.,
product & process; market & organisational, etc. “internal networks”, multiple links
• Firms do not innovate in isolation; selectively involve external sources of knowledge (absorptive capacitity)
• Opportunity recognition & realisation: org. structure gatekeeper/s, firm age, network position, “boredom effect”
University-Business Links (1/2)
• 3-fold role: education, creation of scientific knowledge, sharing of knowledge
• Complex & interactive chain-link model; cognitive and geographical proximity
• Rationale for collaborate vary for sector, size, age, location, “people dimension”, innovation activity, university characteristics
University-Business Links (2/2)
• Contract research • Informal contacts with academics • Co-patenting and lincense utilisation • Use of laboratories• Supervision of theses • Internships, graduate employment, staff
mobility • Involvement of businesses on HEI boards
and vice versa• Business people teach in HEI• Participation in HE and FE offer
Organising U-B links
• Different org set-ups: ‘individual’ vs. ‘centralised’ approach
• No one-size fits all, but individual approach makes spill-over effects (contacts, add resources, workplacements) difficult
Strategy & capacity building and incentives
Source: DCU Strategic Plan 2012-2017, Dublin
Organising U-B links
Mobility between public research organisations and the private sector (1/2)
Example approaches: • Work placements and internships
of doctoral students • Fellowships and exchange
programmes of experienced researchers
Mobility between public research organisations and the private sector (2/2)
Public policy initiatives: • Ireland: Science Foundation Ireland
Industry Fellowship Programme to support bi-directional mobility
• Denmark: Mobilex: support interest-driven, researcher-initiated research projects
• Scotland: Scottish Enterprise Industrial Fellowships Pilot: upporting high-technology start-ups from within the Scottish industrial base (evaluation report)
7 Dimensions in HEInnovate www.heinnovate.eu
5. The higher education institution specifically supports staff and student mobility between academia and the external environment
Staff and student mobility are key mechanisms for knowledge exchange (also admin. & doctoral students)
Mobility needs incentives and facilitation; feedback mechanisms for HEI-wide knowledge exchange
Organising for mobility can be resource intensive: centralised support services & faculty-focus-points can help.
Knowledge exchange links (6 statements)
What do we expect from HEInnovate?
• Capacity upgrading in HEIs
– Capture signals of opportunities & barriers – Learning materials (case studies & guidance
notes) – International networking opportunities
• Public policy inputs from trends and gaps
– Survey data – Country reviews – National and international capacity building
events
Additional slides
Universities as external knowledge partners of innovative firms (2010-2012, in %)
EU (28)
Finland
Slovenia
Austria
United Kingdom
Hungary
Sweden
Czech
Republic
German
y
Norway
France
Netherl
ands
Poland
Spain Italy
13
26 2522
20 18 1815 14 13 12 11 11 10
64
6 6 57
2 3 2 3 42
Universities_col Universities_rel**
Source: European Commission, 2015, CIS 2012;