university–enterprise cooperation

support services and persons committed
to and specialised in promoting and
implementing the cooperation between
the universities and enterprises;
3. Curricular involvement of enterprises to
upgrade and update the curriculum;
4. Joint research realized by universities
and enterprises;
5. Support given to the creation of companies;
6. (Transnational) Mobility activities or
schemes;
7. Involvement in local and regional development.
To this end, critical success factors in
supporting strategies university-enterprise
cooperation can be summarized as follows:
• Cooperation should be shown as being
beneficial to both parties: a win - win
situation for both parties at all levels
and in all activities;
• Is supported by clear agreements or a charter
of cooperation between parties concerned;
• Is best embedded into the overall policy
and mission statement of the university
and into strategic plans;
• Is coordinated and implemented by
official bodies or structures which report
on a regular basis to all the governing
structures concerned;
• Is integrated at all levels of the
university: at the political and strategic
level as well as at the operational level,
at the curriculum level, at Research and
Development level etc.;
• Is incorporated in all faculties and all
departments of the universities;
• Is closely linked and intertwined with the
European and international cooperation
strategy and mobility of the university.
Additionally:
• All stakeholders (students, professors,
companies etc.) are involved in the
development and the implementation
of cooperation;
• University-enterprise cooperation policies
and activities are regularly reviewed and
evaluated and clearly assessed by all
stakeholders;
• University-enterprise cooperation bodies
or offices are run by people with experience
from industry to manage them;
• Universities should develop partnerships
with the world of enterprise while enterprises
could help universities to modify curricula
and governance structures.
3.2.3. Recommendations
Following the Commission’s analysis results
the EU needs to work harder in the future
for the purpose of integration all three parts
of the knowledge triangle. The Commission
has stressed:
• The lack of innovation and entrepreneurial
culture in research and higher education;
• The fragmentation of the EU’s research
and higher education system;
• A lack of investment, in particular private
investment, in research and development;
• The lack of a critical mass and innovation
in small and medium-sized enterprises.
At the European level, actions are then needed
to create the necessary conditions to enable
universities to improve their performance, to
become more competitive and, eventually, to
enhance enterprise cooperation. Taking stock
of the debate and taking into account European
specificities, the Commission has recommended a
few changes, as listed below.
1-Provide incentives for structured partnerships
with the business community: the strategic
relationship with the business community
has to be strengthened to harness scientific
and technological knowledge. Structured
partnerships with large as well as with small
and medium enterprises bring opportunities
for universities to improve the sharing of
research results, intellectual property rights,
patents and licences, but also for new
entrepreneurships with on-campus start-ups
or with the creation of science parks.
Links with business can bring additional
funding, for example to expand research
capacity or to provide retraining courses, and
will enhance the impact of university-based
research on SMEs and regional innovation.
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State of the art in the area of university-enterprise cooperation - EU level 3