1. 9th October, 2018 Arno Meerman meerman@uiin.org
The State of University- Business Cooperation: Proximity matters!
9th October, 2018
Arno Meerman

2. The history of universities
1810 Humboldt University of Berlin
1925
University of Wisconsin
1088 University of Bologna
2003 First Technology Transfer Office in Brazil
1st mission: Education
2nd mission: Research
3rd mission: Knowledge transfer

3. Results from the largest European study on University-Industry Interaction
Academics
1.278 Business Directors
237 UBC Managers
529 Innovation Managers
209 HR / Recruitment Managers
860 Other
2.285 HEI Managers
1.197 Knowledge Transfer Professional
14.318
3.113

4. University-Industry Interaction is more than patents and start-ups
All types of interaction are connected, it is about the bigger picture…
Area
Education
Research
Valorisation
Management
Type
Curriculum co-development
Collaboration in R&D
Commercialisation of R&D results
Governance
Curriculum co-delivery
Professional mobility
Academic entrepreneurship
Shared resources
Student mobility
Contract research
Student Entrepreneurship
Industry support
Lifelong learning
Dual education programmes

5. Barriers the top 3 most relevant
UBC businesses
HEI Management
Academics
Limited resources of SMEs
FUNDING FOR COOPERATION
RESOURCES, TIME & BUREAUCRACY
Limited resources of SMEs
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
Lack of people with business knowledge within universities
7,4
6,9
6,0
Lack of business funding for UBC
Bureaucracy related to UBC
Differing motivations between universities and our business
6,7
6,7
6,0
Lack of government funding for UBC
Insufficient work time allocated by the university for academics´ UBC activities
Differing time horizons between universities and business
6,6
6,7
5,9
Scale: 1 = “Not at all relevant” to 10 = “Extremely relevant”

6. Motivators the top 3 most relevant
HEI Management
Academics
Businesses
FUNDING, GRADUATES, RESEARCH INTO SOCIETY
To obtain funding / financial resources
Gain new insights for research
RESEARCH INSIGHTS, RESEARCH INTO SOCIETY
NEW DISCOVERIES AND INNOVATION
Get access to new technologies and
knowledge
8,1
7,8
7,6
To improve graduate employability
Use my research in practice
Improve our innovation capacity
8,1
7,7
7,6
To use the university´s research in practice
Address societal challenges and issues
Access new discoveries at an early stage
7,1
8,0
7,1
Scale: 1 = “Not at all relevant” to 10 = “Extremely relevant”

7. AMS is a unique collaboration between knowledge institutions (Technical University Delft, Wageningen University and MIT), business (Cisco, Shell, IBM, ESA) and public stakeholders.
Key success factors:
Stakeholders committed $300m+ for 10 years
Collaboration is embedded in the DNA
Focus on benefits to society and business

8. Facilitators the top 3 most relevant
HEI Management
Academics
Businesses
TRUSTED RELATIONSHIPS
Existence of mutual trust
Existence of mutual trust
TRUSTED RELATIONSHIPS
TRUSTED RELATIONSHIPS
Existence of mutual trust
8,3
8,0
8,0
Existence of a shared goal
Existence of a shared goal
Existence of a shared goal
8,2
7,9
7,9
Existence of funding to undertake the cooperation
Existence of funding to undertake the cooperation
Existence of mutual commitment
8,0
7,8
7,8
Scale: 1 = “Not at all relevant” to 10 = “Extremely relevant”

9. Contextual factors influence UBC
70%+ cooperate with nearby universities to more than a significant extent, close to 35% do so on an international level
55%+ collaborate with regional business to more than a significant extent, close to 20% do so on an international level.
Top-to-bottom innovative and entrepreneurial culture.

10. It is about relationships, trust, mutual commitment, shared goals
Understanding university-industry interaction
Culture and regulations need to change to facilitate a more open and collaborate environment on a local and regional level
It is about relationships, trust, mutual commitment, shared goals
There is a need for a more holistic approach, from both university (corporate engagement) and business (university relations managers)
Interests are not mutually exclusive, different motivations strengthen the value of collaboration

11. Contact Information
Arno Meerman Phone: Mobile: University Industry Innovation Network Science Park XH Amsterdam The Netherlands