casestudyreport.pdf

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1© Science-to-Business Marketing Research Centre

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 5Scope of report 5Introduction to UBC 5Elements in the UBC Ecosystem 5

AIMS & METHODOLOGY 7Introduction 7Objective 7Process for selection 7Basis for selection 8Countries considered in the selection of the cases 8Case study partners 9

CASE STUDIES 10Case study key insights 10Classication of countries 12

Nature of case study 12Case study quick-nd 13

NORTHERN Europe 18Case 1: SEA, Denmark 19Case 2: ETM, Estonia 25Case 3: Demola, Finland 30Case 4: REAP, Ireland 35Case 5: Mobility at UL, Latvia 41Case 6: CSE, Sweden 46

Case 7: SMIL, Sweden 52Case 8: SPEED, UK 57Case 9: IDI/Digital City, UK 63Case 10: Acua Limited, UK 70

EASTERN EUROPE 75Case 11: GIS, Bulgaria 76Case 12: TTO Pécs, Hungary 80Case 13: The Science and Economy Project, Poland 84Case 14: WCTT, Poland 90Case 15: Q-PlanNet, Romania 96

CONTENTS


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CONTENTS

SOUTHERN EUROPE 102Case 16: MUHC, Malta 103Case 17: PNICube, Italy 108Case 18: TTO Milano, Italy 113Case 19: InnoCash, Spain 117Case 20: INNOVA, Spain 122Case 21: INNPACTO, Spain 127

WESTERN EUROPE 132Case 22: Science Fit, Austria 133Case 23: FFG, Austria 140Case 24: TTI, Belgium 145Case 25: Promotech, France 150Case 26: UnternehmerTUM, Germany 155Case 27: The Partnering University Approach, Germany 160Case 28: Telekom Innovation Laboratories, Germany 167Case 29: Minor Entrepreneurship, Netherlands 173

Case 30: Innovation Focus though Strategic Partnership, Netherlands 178


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ABBREVIATIONS

Advance Certicate in EducationCracow University of Economics

Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship

European Commission

European Regional Development Fund

European Union

European University Association

Austrian Research Promotion Agency

Full Time Equivalent

Gothenburg International Bioscience Business School

Higher Education Funding Council for England

Higher Education Institution

Information and Communication Technology

Institute of Digital Innovation

Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property Rights

Knowledge transfer professional (University professional working with business)

LifeLong Learning

Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation

Münster University of Applied SciencesMalta University Holding Company

National Qualications Framework

Doctorate of Philosophy

Network of Quality Reference Centres Romania

Research and development

Supporting Entrepreneurship programme at Aalborg University

Small and medium company

Student Placements for Entrepreneurs in Education

Science-to-Business Marketing Research CentreTechnology Transfer Interface

Technology Transfer Ofce

Technical University of Munich

Technical University Eindhoven

University-Business

University – Business Cooperation

University of Latvia

University of Pécs

Free University of AmsterdamFree University Brussels

Wroclaw Centre for Technology Transfer

ACECUE

CSE

EC

ERDF

EU

EUA

FFG

FTE

GIBBS

HEFCE

HEI

ICT

IDI

IP

IPR

KTP

LLL

MICINN

MUASMUHC

NQF

PhD

QRC

R&D

SEA

SME

SPEED

S2BMRCTTI

TTO

TUM

TU/e

UB

UBC

UL

UP

VUVUB

WCTT


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30 BEST CASE STUDIES OF GOOD PRACTICE IN THE AREA OF UBC WITHIN EUROPE

Copyright © Science-to-Business Marketing Research Centre

Editors: Todd Davey, Prof. Dr. Thomas Baaken, Michael Deery (Münster University of Applied Sciences, Germany),Victoria Galan Muros (University of Granada, Spain)

Authors: Todd Davey, Michael Deery (Münster University of Applied Sciences, Germany), Clive Winters (CoventryUniversity, UK), Dr. Peter van der Sijde (Vrije University, The Netherlands), Tomasz Kusio (Cracow Universityof Economics, Poland), Silvia Rodríguez Sedano (RedOTRI, Spain)

Contributors: Arno Meerman, Nisha Korff, Stef Gosejohann, Thorsten Kliewe (Münster University of Applied Sciences,

Germany), Matthew JamesGraphic Design: Konrad Geel (KonradBerlin Design)

We acknowledge the strategic input, project management and direction given by Peter Baur and associates from DG Educationand Culture.

This document has been prepared for the European Commission. However, it reects the views only of the authors, and the

Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.


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INTRODUCTION

SCOPE OF REPORT

The following report includes 30 cases of European good practice in University-Business Cooperation(UBC). The cases have been researched and selected to show the broad diversity of examples inUBC in a European context covering the breadth of the European Union (EU) (existing, or candidatemembers) and economic community and members of the European Economic Area (EEA). Thecases are relevant for university management and knowledge transfer professionals, all levels of

government responsible for economic development and for business seeking to increase innovationthrough UBC.

INTRODUCTION TO UBC

UBC is the collaboration of university and business with the support of government for mutual andsocietal benet. If UBC is understood as transactions between higher education institutions (HEIs)and business for mutual benet, fostering UBC and extracting its value can help universities to facethe problem of decreasing public funds , help businesses to gain and maintain their competitiveadvantage in today’s dynamic international markets , contribute to the economic development atregional and national level as well as meet the demands of the labour market to provide morerelevant knowledge and skills . In this context, successful UBC creates mutual benet for all partiesinvolved, and wider, to society.

ELEMENTS IN THE UBC ECOSYSTEMTHERE ARE A NUMBER OF ELEMENTS THAT MAKE UP THE UBC ECOSYSTEM INCLUDING:

1. University-Business (UB) stakeholders – These include the so-called ‘Triple Helix’: Governments,HEIs and businesses working in a cooperative and mutually benecial relationship.

2. The 4 Pillars of UBC – These embrace the strategies, structures and approaches, activities andframework conditions which can be implemented (action items) in order to directly stimulate UBCor indirectly address inuencing factors affecting UBC.

3. Inuencing factors – These include specic barriers, drivers and situational factors (such as age,gender, years working in the HEI, years working in business, type of HEI, size of HEI and country)that affect or inuence the ability of HEIs or academics to undertake and pursue UBC.

4. The 8 Types of UBC – These encapsulate the different ways in which HEIs and business can coop-

erate, including: collaboration in research and development (R&D), mobility of academics, mobil-ity of students, commercialisation of R&D results, curriculum development and delivery, lifelonglearning, entrepreneurship and governance.

1. Carayol (2003)2. Tucker (2002)3. OECD (2002)4. Gibb & Hannon (2006), Storm (2008), Razvan & Dainora (2009)

INTRODUCTION


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Diagram: The UBC Ecosystem (simplifed version) Created during the project by Davey, Galan Muros, Kliewe 2011

UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS COOPERATION

THE 8 TYPES OF COOPERATIONCollaboration in R&D, Mobility of academics, Mobility of studentsComercialisation of R&D results,Curriculum develoment and delivery,Lifelong learning, Entrepeneurship and Governance

THE 4 PILLARS

Strategies, Structures & Approaches, Activities and Framework Conditions

KEY STAKEHOLDERSHEIs (Academic, Management and KTPs),Government (EU, National, Regional) and BusinessHAVING

INFLUENCE

ACTIONLEVEL

RESULTLEVEL

The following chapter introduces the aims of and methodology for the creation of the case studies.


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AIMS &METHODOLOGY

INTRODUCTION

This chapter introduces the methodology used in selecting the 30 good practice case studies andincludes a description of the case studies’ partners, the process for selection, the basis for selectionand nally the countries considered in the selection of the good practice cases.

OBJECTIVE

The primary objective for the creation of 30 UBC case studies was to highlight good practice casesthe principles of which could be clearly explained and had a high degree of transferability orusefulness for adaption in other settings. A further objective was to provide a range of cases withdiffering nature in order to provide key insights for all practitioners in UBC at all stages of UBCdevelopment.

PROCESS FOR SELECTION

Good practices in UBC were collected and sourced from all over Europe. In sourcing the casestudies, a number of methods were used including personal interviews, a systematic review ofpreviously documented cases as well as a comprehensive search for prize winners in UBC, conference

presentations and recognised publications. Following the creation of criteria for the assessmentof case studies, cases were then researched, collected and inputted into a database. This list ofcandidate case studies was then reduced to 50 for consideration by the project’s Technical ExcellenceAdvisory Board. The board then reduced this list of case study candidates to 30, which wassubsequently submitted to the EC for approval. Once the case studies were approved, each partnerhad the task of writing six cases studies within the partner’s region.

AIMS & METHODOLOGY

STEPS1. Creation of an appropriate process and set of criteria for selecting cases by the project’s

Technical Excellence Advisory Board

2. Collection of candidates for good practise in European UBC by cases study partners

3. From an initial candidate list of over 100 cases, a preliminary elimination of 50 cases wasexecute based upon ineligibility, lack of unique qualities or lack of information

4. Assessment of 50 candidate cases by the Technical Excellence Advisory Board using the selectioncriteria to further reduce the list to 30 cases

6. Case studies proofed and approved by HEIs

5. Commencement of the process of writing the case studies


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Countries that are existing, orcandidate members, of the EuropeanUinion or are partly committed to theEU economy and regulations asmember of the European EconomicArea (EEA) were targets of the study.

PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES

INVOLVED IN STUDY

BASIS FOR SELECTIONThe following are the base of the criteria considered in the selection of the good practice casestudies. A balance in the case studies was sought in order to provide good practice examples in anumber of relevant areas of UBC and for them to be accessible to a range of UBC stakeholders:• Nature of good practice: strategy, structure/approach, operational activity and/or framework

condition• Type of cooperation: collaboration in R&D, mobility of academics, mobility of students, commer-

cialisation of R&D results, curriculum development and delivery, lifelong learning, entrepreneur-ship and/ or governance

• Stage of development of the case: starting out in UBC, developing UBC example or highly devel-oped UBC example

• Region: Northern, Eastern, Southern, or Western Europe

COUNTRIES CONSIDERED IN THE SELECTION OF THE CASES

Countries that were considered for case study selection were current or candidate members of the EUor those committed to the EU economy and regulations as member of the European Economic Area(EEA). The countries include: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark,Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein,Lithuania, Luxemburg, Macedonia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia,Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and United Kingdom


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CASE STUDY PARTNERS

The 30 good practice case studies were prepared by the Science-to-Business Marketing ResearchCentre (S2BMRC) in Germany and four partners, each based in one of four European regions(Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western Europe). The four partners involved in creating the casesstudies were:

ORGANISATIONS

Münster University of AppliedSciences

COUNTRY REGIONRESPONSIBILITY

GERMANY All Europe

Coventry University UNITEDKINGDOM Northern Europe

Cracow University of Economics Eastern EuropePOLAND

Spanish Network of University

Knowledge Transfer Ofces (RedOTRI) SPAINSouthern Europe

Vrije University Western EuropeTHE NETHERLANDS


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INSIGHT 5 A LONGER-TERM COMMITMENT TO UBC IS REQUIRED

Sustained high-level commitment, funding and patience from all UBC stakeholdersare required for successful UBC. These qualities are required to overcome thebarriers related to the differing mode of communication, motivations and timehorizon among the UBC stakeholders and to forge longer-term partnerships.For further information, the cases studies that illustrate this point include: Case 7 - Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) and SMIL,

Case 14 - Wroclaw Centre for Technology Transfer (WCTT), Case 23 - Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), Case 25 - PROMOTECH

Living Lab, Case 27 - The ‘partnering university’ approach.

INSIGHT 6 THERE IS A MOVEMENT TO LONGER-SUSTAINABLE FUNDING MODELS

In order to ensure the long-term sustainability of some initiatives, some casesdemonstrate the move to alternative funding models including private funding andfunding from multiple stakeholders involved in UBC.For further information, the cases studies that illustrate this point include: Case 6 -Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship (CSE), Case 7 - Centre for

Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) and SMIL, Case 9 - Institute of Digital Innovation (IDI)/ DigitalCity, Case 11- GIS Transfer Centre, Case 14

- Wroclaw Centre for Technology Transfer (WCTT), Case 16 - The Malta University Holding Company (MUHC), Case 17 - Premio Nazionale per

l'Innovazione (PNI) CUBE, Case 22 - Science Fit programme, Case 26 - UnternehmerTUM, Case 27 - The ‘partnering university’ approach.


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CLASSIFICATION OF COUNTRIESAn even and representative mix of countries and regions was selected from the candidate countries in thefour regions:

REGION

Eastern Europe

COUNTRIES NO. OFCOUNTRIESIN THE REGION

Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland,Romania, Slovakia 6

Southern Europe

Western Europe

NO. OFCASE STUDIESSELECTED

Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Macedonia,Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain

Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxem-burg, Liechtenstein, Netherlands

5

9 6

7 9

Northern EuropeDenmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland,Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, Sweden, UnitedKingdom

10 10

NATURE OF CASE STUDYThe following tables detail the number of cases focussed on each of the 8 Types of UBC and on each ofthe 4 Pillars of UBC. A balance was sought in the cases selected among the 8 Types as well as the 4 Pillarsof UBC.

CASES SELECTED ADDRESSINGTHE TYPES OF UBC

Collaboration in R&D

NO.

8

Personnel mobility 3Commercialisation ofresearch & development results 12

2

Lifelong learning 3Entrepreneurship 11

Curriculum developmentand delivery

CASES SELECTED ADDRESSINGTHE 4 PILLARS OF UBC

Strategy

NO.

2

Structural instrument or approach 11

14

Framework condition 3

Operational activity


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SPAIN

FRANCE

ITALY

BELGIUM

MALTA

BULGARIA

AUSTRIA

ROMANIA

HUNGARY

POLAND

ESTONIA

IRELAND

UNITED KINGDOM

NETHERLANDS

DENMARK

SWEDEN

FINLAND

GERMANY

LATVIA

CASE STUDY | QUICK FIND


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SELECTED CASES STUDIES

REGION

NorthernEurope

COUNTRY HEI / ORGANISATION NAME

DENMARK1

DESCRIPTION

Entrepreneurship at Aalborg University(SEA)

ASE CASE STUDY NAME TYPES OF UBC FOUR PILLAR FOCUS

Aalborg University

Aalborg’s

knowledge-intensive entrepreneurialtraining ground Entrepreneurship Operational a ctivityNorthernEurope

ESTONIA2Master ofEntrepreneurship and Technology(ETM)

University of Tartu –Faculty of Economics and BusinessAdministration

Pioneering Baltic MBA forentrepreneurs and technologymanagers

EntrepreneurshipLifelong learning Operational activity

NorthernEurope FINLAND3 Demola platform

Hermia Ltd,Tampere University of Technology,University of Tampere,Tampere University of AppliedScienes.

Open innovation platform forthe creation of next generationproducts and services by Demola,Finland

Collaboration in R&D Operational activi ty

NorthernEurope IRELAND4

Roadmap for Employment - AcademicPartnerships (REAP)

Cork Institute of Technology,Seven Higher Education InstitutionPartners

Reaping the benets: partneringemployers and HEIs to create thelifelong educational pathway

Lifelong learning Structural instrumentor approach

6 NorthernEurope SWEDEN

7

Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship(CSE) Chalmers University of Technology

The entrepreneurial venturecreation and start-up factory

Curriculum developmentand delivery

Entrepreneurship


8

NorthernEurope

9

Centre for Innovation andEntrepreneurship (CIE) andSMIL

University of LinköpingSMIL: The knowledge-intensiveprogramme (plus ‘circle offriends’ network) for start-ups

Entrepreneurship Operational a ctivity

NorthernEurope

UNITEDKINGDOM

Student Placements for Entrepreneursin Education (SPEED)

Wolverhampton University,University partners

SPEED: the entrepreneurial‘apprenticeship’ accelerator

EntrepreneurshipPersonnel mobilityCurriculum developmentand delivery


SWEDEN

NorthernEurope

Institute of Digital Innovation (IDI)/ DigitalCity Teesside University

Digital excellence enabling institutein Digital City, Middlesbrough

Collaboration in R&D Structural instrumentor approach

UNITEDKINGDOM

5 NorthernEurope Mobility at UL University of Latvia

Emerging from strong structuralfoundations, this Baltic regionplayer is now expanding its impactin mobility within Europe

Personnel mobility Opera tiona l activityLATVIA


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REGION

EasternEurope


11

DESCRIPTIONCASE CASE STUDY NAME TYPES OF UBC FOUR PILLAR FOCUS

GIS Transfer Centre Technical University of SoaThe GIS Transfer Centre inSoa, a knowledge-intensiveindustry hub

Structural instrumentor approach

HUNGARYTechnology TransferOfce (TTO) of theUniversity of Pécs (UP)

The TTO at Pécs navigates witha knowledge map to guidescience-society linkages

Commercialisationof R&D results


POLAND The Sc ience and Economy Pro ject Cracow University of Economics(CUE)

CUE has an online platform andquarterly publication for match-making academics to industry

Commercialisationof R&D results Operational activity

Wroclaw Centre for TechnologyTransfer (WCTT)

Wroclaw University of TechnologyWCTT is the bridge linkingscientists with the ideas andcapital coming from entre-preneurship

Commercialisationof R&D resultsEntrepreneurship


ROMANIA Q-PlaNet – Quality PlacementsNetwork

University Transilvania of Brasov,Consortium of ten partners

Strengthening links with businessthrough a multinationalEuropean quality studentplacement network

Personnel mobility Operational act ivit y

Malta University HoldingCompany Malta University

Straddling business andHEI to maximise commercialpotential with the MUHC



ITALY Premio Nazionale per l’Innovazione(PNI) CUBE

Association of the ItalianIncubators and AcademicBusiness Plan

This award is a sort of ‘Champi-ons League’ for the best enterpriseprojects originating in a universityenvironment

EntrepreneurshipStructural instrumentor approach

MALTA

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

EasternEurope

BULGARIA

EasternEurope

EasternEurope

EasternEurope

POLAND

SouthernEurope

SouthernEurope

ITALYTechnology TransferOfce (TTO) of Milan Polytechnic Milan Polytechnic

A patent-focussed TTO givesMilan Polytechnic a leadingedge


StrategySouthernEurope

University of Pécs


10 UNITEDKINGDOM Acua Limited Coventry University Employers’ education support andbusiness coach programme in Cov-entry provided by ACUALifelong lear ning Operational activityNorthernEurope


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REGION

SouthernEurope


20

DESCRIPTIONASE CASE STUDY NAME TYPES OF UBC FOUR PILLAR FOCUS

INNOVA programme Polytechnic University of Valencia(UPV)

Financing innovative scienticproof-of-concept projectsthrough to commercialisation

Commercialisationof R&D results Operational activity

SPAIN INNPACTOSpanish Ministry of Science andInnovation (MICINN)

INNPACTO is creating the Span-ish framework for the knowledgeeconomy

Collaboration in R&D Framework condition

AUSTRIA Science Fit programme

Graz University of Technology,Montan University Leoben,Karl Franzens University Graz,Joanneum Research

Science Fit in Graz is using scienceto make the economy t

Collaboration in R&D Structural instrumentor approach

Austrian Research Promotion Agency(FFG)

Ministry of Economy, Family and Youth(BMWFJ)

Mind the Gap! FFG closingthe gap between scienceand marketing with a fund-ing initiative in Austria

Commercialisationof R&D resultsCollaboration in R&D

Framework condition

BELGIUM Technology Transfer Interface (TTI) Free University Brussels (VUB)Using Confucius and an openexchange platform to guide

researcher research valorisationefforts, the case of TTI in Brussels

Commercialisation ofR&D results Operational activity

PROMOTECH Living LabPROMOTECH

Living Lab in France offers anopen innovation process driven byend-users to create a new type ofentrepreneur

Entrepreneurship Structural instrumentor approach

GERMANY UnternehmerTUM The Technical University ofMunich (TUM)

Educating and supportingentrepreneurs in Germany’sengine room

Collaboration in R&DEntrepreneurship


FRANCE

21

22

23

24

25

26

SouthernEurope

SPAIN

WesternEurope

WesternEurope

WesternEurope

AUSTRIA

WesternEurope

WesternEurope

GERMANY The partnering university approach Münster University of Ap-plied Sciences (MUAS)

Tools and mechanisms ofthe partnering university tocreate long term strategicpartnerships with industry

Commercialisationof R&D resultsCollaboration in R&D

StrategyWesternEurope

19 SPAIN InnoCash programme Genoma España Foundation,Spanish Ministry of Science andInnovation (MICINN)

Filling the ‘valley of death’ forinnovative R&D with SpanishInnoCash

Framework conditionSouthernEuropeCommercialisationof R&D results

27


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REGION

WesternEurope


29

DESCRIPTIONCASE CASE STUDY NAME TYPES OF UBC FOUR PILLAR FOCUS

Minor Entrepreneurship Free University Amsterdam (VU)

A course not just for the role of en-trepreneur but for the future policy-maker, consultant and researcher inthe area of entrepreneurship

Entrepreneur ship Operat ional act ivity

Innovation focus throughstrategic partnerships Technical University Eindhoven (TU/e)

Commercialisation ofR&D resultsEntrepreneurship

Operational activity30 WesternEurope

NETHERLANDS

NETHERLANDS

Integrated approach to valorisationcreates an ecosystem whereinnovation starts

28 GERMANY Telekom Innovation Laboratories Deutsche Telekom InnovationLaboratories

A research centre shaping tomor-

row’s world by combining scienticknowledge with the innovative driveof a global corporation

Collaboration in R&D Structural instrumentor approachWesternEurope


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CASESTUDIES

IRELAND

ESTONIA

DENMARK

SWEDEN

UNITEDKINGDOM

SPEED

ACUA LIMITED

IDI/DIGITALCITY

SEA

REAP

ETM

CSE

SMIL

FINLAND

DEMOLA

LATVIA

MOBILITY AT UL

NORTHERNEUROPE


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CASE 1SEADENMARK

NORTHERNEUROPE

CASE STUDY TITLE

HEI / ORGANISATION NAME

COUNTRY

DATE

NATURE OF INTERACTIONWITH BUSINESS

NATURE OF GOODPRACTISE/PROJECT

PROFILESHORT DESCRIPTION Rooted in the university’s philosophy of problem-based learning,

the Supporting Entrepreneurship programme at Aalborg University(SEA) prepares students for a career after their studies asentrepreneurial employees, researcher and also as entrepreneursthrough the provision of training, mentoring and coaching and theprovision of infrastructural support. Through SEA’s activities withindustry, new ideas are created and start-ups are established. Theuniversity also supports other members of the academic communityand those generally in the region with knowledge based businessopportunity to set up a company.

AALBORG’S KNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVE ENTREPRENEURIAL

TRAINING GROUND

BACKGROUND Denmark has a law on inventions made within public researchinstitutions (Law no. 347 of June 2nd 1999), which came intoeffect on January 1st 2000. According to this law, the researchersare obligated to notify the university in the event that they havemade a patentable invention. The university will decide whetherto take over the researchers’ rights. In the event that the universitydecides not to take over the rights, the rights will remain withthe inventors, and they are free to commercialise the inventionon their own. Another major key to new venture creation are theuniversity students who are not a part of the law 347, and againstthis background the University of Aalborg has developed itsentrepreneurship programmes (for start-ups) and knowledge andtechnology transfer programmes (joint and individual spin-outs).

AIM AND TARGET SEA aims to prepare students for their active working life afteruniversity in all capacities: as researchers, as employees and asentrepreneurs. With the global knowledge economy, SEA seesa growing need for innovative and exible entrepreneurs andintrapreneurs. They see new emerging structures where businessesare established, sold, closed or continued in new contexts. Thenotion of a life-time business which is established by youngentrepreneurs, consolidated through their mature years andeventually inherited and continued by their sons and daughtersnow belongs to the long-gone industrial society. Nowadays,

entrepreneurship is about self-realisation, about growing,changing, seizing new opportunities and continuously meetingnew challenges. Young people today have seriously differentexpectations and SEA sees them as its most important goal to

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AT AALBORG UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF AALBORG

DENMARK

JULY 2011

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

OPERATIONAL ACTIVITY


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prepare the students for the challenges and opportunities oftoday and tomorrow.

FUNDING The main knowledge transfer activities are maintained bya sister ofce under Aalborg University Innovation calledthe knowledge exchange ofce. The Aalborg UniversityInnovation is part of the administration for the facultiesof engineering, science and health, but it is also a serviceunit for all the faculties of the university. The main parts ofthe knowledge transfer activities are placed at AalborgUniversity Innovation, whose role is to ease the entrance tothe university and to support innovation, business creationand growth in the business community of the region through

its three ofces: knowledge exchange ofce, patent andcommercialisation ofce and the SEA entrepreneurshipofce.

Funding (annually)University funding €780,000External funding (e.g. EU) €1.2mTotal ≈€2m

IMPLEMENTATION

Central to the SEA programme, the role of the knowledgeexchange ofce is to assist the university and organisationsin creating and strengthening mutually benecialrelationships. This is used between researchers and industryin the creation and maintenance of contacts and networks.Through the project and funding ofce, joint projects areformulated, funds are applied for and joint agreementscan be made. When the partners need a collaborationagreement, the patent and commercialisation ofcegets involved, IPR can be developed and spin outs arecreated. A large number of the collaborations go all theway through to the patent and commercialisation ofce.This results from the extensive informal collaboration that

takes place all around the university. Through the processof the collaboration, some might need the expertise of thepatent and commercialisation ofce. The students receiveentrepreneurship training in the early phases of the businessdevelopment through the courses, events and pre-incubators.Through SEA’s activities with industry, new ideas are createdand start-ups are established. Yet others use SEA’s activitiesto work on turning their idea into a business plan throughcoaching and mentoring before establishing their business.Other students go into collaborative research and establisha joint spin-out with Aalborg University.

The patent and commercialisation ofce ensures that theuniversity receives notice of most of the inventions that aremade at Aalborg University. However it is also expectedthat some researchers choose not to notify the universitybecause they do not ‘believe in the system’, meaning

CASE 1SEADENMARK

NORTHERNEUROPE

STRATEGYAND ACTIONS


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TRAINING OF TRAINERSA key issue of entrepreneurship culture and teaching at theuniversity is to have teachers that are in a position and havequalications that allow them to teach entrepreneurshipand to use innovative pedagogies in teaching. For thisreason SEA provides courses for teachers at all levels of theeducational system.

INNOVATION XFor entrepreneurs, it is essential that they are surrounded bya well-functioning eco-system that can provide access to e.g.professional guidance. For this reason, SEA has initiated andruns a partnership open to all public and private actors inthe innovation system to join forces in quarterly knowledgedays. On a knowledge day, entrepreneurs and SME’s havethe opportunity to listen in on a variety of different sessions,meet people from the innovations system and network withother entrepreneurs.

Most SEA activities are externally funded, for instancethrough social funds projects, where evaluation andassessment are integral parts of the project. Whenarranging conferences and seminars, SEA conducts post-evaluations on participants, and all activities are evaluated.However, alumni involved in SEA-based or SEA-initiatedactivities are not tracked, and therefore the long-termimpact has not yet been investigated. Incubators evaluateentrepreneurs’ needs in a mid-term evaluation discussionand a closing evaluation interview with a small group ofentrepreneurs.

MONITORING ANDEVALUATION

SUSTAINABILITY SEA works with the goal of developing mostentrepreneurship activities into traditional courses andcurricula ofAalborg University, or into project work that can beconsidered as part of the curricula. SEA also works on

setting up start-up grants and has an ‘11th semester’ optionwith a full focus on entrepreneurship and start up processes.

IMPACT|RESULTS|OUTCOMES

In working with entrepreneurship for some 10 years, SEAhas managed to place an increasingly higher focus onentrepreneurship at the university and in the region, whichhas resulted in increasingly more courses and increasinglymore students starting their own companies. A briefreview in mid-2010 showed that more than 400 peopleparticipated in the incubation programme, and that more

than 43% of these have been involved in the formation andregistration of a company.

ACHIEVEMENTS

CASE 1SEADENMARK

NORTHERNEUROPE


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Further achievements include:• The establishment of a major workshop for all university mas-ter students called WOFIE

• The establishment of an entrepreneurship board to secure acontinued focus on developing the problem-based learningmodel and the connection to entrepreneurship education.

SUCCESS FACTORS SEA sees its activities, basic philosophy and denition ofentrepreneurship as being closely connected to the ‘basic’teaching rule of Aalborg University – problem-based learning.Problem-based learning has always been the prime teachingand learning metaphor of Aalborg University and is probably

the most distinctive feature of Aalborg University comparedto other universities inside or outside Denmark. According toSEA, entrepreneurship thinking and problem-based learningare closely related and they perceive problem-based learningas a signicantly different environment and precondition forentrepreneurship than what is the reality in most other HEIs inEurope. Problem-based learning is by its nature heavily associatedwith ‘the art of nding solutions’, which is also one of the cornerstones of knowledge intensive entrepreneurship. SEA is embeddedin the knowledge transfer process of the university.

IMPACTS More start-up companies coming out of the university and a largernumber of accredited courses.

The entrepreneurship programmes are embedded in theuniversity’s curricula as well as the interaction with the region andregional entrepreneurs.

The most important obstacle against entrepreneurship educationis how public resources are administered to universities and howuniversities are rewarded. As long as entrepreneurship educationor dissemination through third stream activities do not releaseadditional resources, it is very difcult to obtain funding for theextracurricular activities within the university budget. SEA arguesthat the introduction and implementation of entrepreneurshipeducation in any given department and faculty still depend tooheavily on personal commitment on the part of professors. Forsome departments, the idea of entrepreneurship seems easierto adopt, as they have a stronger tradition with regard tobusiness start-up, or it is easier for staff and students to see whatentrepreneurship is.

STRENGTHS ANDWEAKNESSES

The transferability of the Aalborg entrepreneurship programmesis high – but the local / university circumstances (e.g. policy)need to be taken into account. Aalborg University has apedagogical model that is more suitable than others to supportentrepreneurship, but key elements in the Problem-Based Learning

model can be transferred.Furthermore, the focus in the incubation programme of businessdevelopment taking place within the academic society (as

TRANSFERABILITY

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opposed to in a science park detached from the academicsociety) could be further investigated.

THEMES Entrepreneurship, Knowledge Exchange Ofce, incubator,Commercialisation Ofce, Law on inventions, Facultyentrepreneurship, Problem-Based Learning (PBL)

RESOURCES

Collaboration with Aalborg University:A shortcut to knowledge, expert help and highly qualiedemployees:www.en.aau.dk/digitalAssets/10/10516_collaboration_with_ aau.pdf

Cooperation with entrepreneurs:www.en.aau.dk/digitalAssets/10/10516_collaboration_with_ aau.pdf

Fostering Academic-Commercial Networks andEntrepreneurship University-Business Cooperation:www.czechtechnologydays.org/sites/default/les/Mr.%20Jorn%20Kristiansen.pdf

www.sea.aau.dkwww.innovation.aau.dkwww.woe.aau.dk(all accessed 18th March 2011)

INFORMATIONSOURCES

Morten DahlgaardHead of Regional DevelopmentAalborg UniversityDenmarkPhone: +45 22405805Email: [email protected]

PUBLIC CONTACTDETAILS

DOCUMENTS ANDPUBLICATIONS

www.sea.aau.dkwww.innovation.aau.dkwww.woe.aau.dk(all accessed 18th March 2011)

DATABASES ANDWEBSITES

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CASE 2ETMESTONIA

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PROFILESHORT DESCRIPTION The master programme in Entrepreneurship and Technology

Management (ETM) was launched in 2002 as an ‘open university’MBA programme at the University of Tartu – Faculty of Economicsand Business Administration. The need for the programmeemerged from the region’s economic life, as at that time manynew high-tech companies were founded in Estonia: 25 in biotechand 350-400 in the information and communication technology(ICT) sector. Working closely with local industry representatives,the master program targets managers of high-tech companies,SMEs and employees of the public sector responsible for regionaldevelopment as well as entrepreneurs in Estonia. Launching the

ETM programme was a pioneering initiative in the Baltic States,since it was quite novel for other neighbouring countries as well.The ETM master programme in curriculum is carried out by theFaculty of Economics and Business Administration.

PIONEERING BALTIC MBA FORENTREPRENEURS AND TECH-

NOLOGY MANAGERS

BACKGROUND The University of Tartu has a portfolio of activities with regard tothe stimulation and support of entrepreneurship. The objective withregard to education is to raise entrepreneurship awareness at theUniversity of Tartu. Further, it is to offer entrepreneurship trainingfor students and university staff, including the execution of themaster programme. There is also a Centre for Entrepreneurship(CE) which has the task of supporting entrepreneurship in theuniversity through:

• the support of the commercialisation of the uversity’s techno-logical and scientic achievements, including analysis of busi-ness ideas for spin-out and spin-off companies, and businessconsulting jointly with the Institute of Technology couch entre-preneurs,

• the promotion and undertaking of research in entrepreneurshipand innovation as well as the development of entrepreneurshipteaching competence,

• the contribution to the development of Tartu, Soutern Estoniaand Estonia in general.

There are also services with regard to technology transfer andbusiness incubation.

MASTER OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND TECHNOLOGY (ETM)

UNIVERSITY OF TARTU – FACULTY OF ECONOMICS ANDBUSINESS ADMINISTRATIONESTONIA

JULY 2011

ENTREPRENEURSHIPLIFELONG LEARNING



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AIM AND TARGET The current curriculum of the Faculty of Economics andBusiness Administration (FEBA) of the University of Tartuoffers a bilingual MBA programme in Entrepreneurship andTechnology Managment. This is a two-year programme (120ECTS), compatible with the Bologna framework.

The aims of the present programme is to prepare the MBAstudents for the following tasks:• Teaching activities in the elds of entrepreneurship and

technology management

• Operating at top-level management positions in the inno-vative knowledge-based companies• Working in leading positions at public institutions related

to enterprise, innovation and technology development.

The following participants are targeted for the masterprogramme:• Students with background in natural sciences, engineer-

ing, economics or social sciences• Students who have proved their capacity in entrepre-

neurial and management practices• Individuals from industry and other business entities, from

public sector, and from other universities, aiming to en-hance their theoretical knowledge and professional skillsand to obtain an MBA degree in Entrepreneurship andTechnology Management.

The entrepreneurship activities and the ETM programmeare regularly subject to studies of best practice in Europe.As an example,. in the BEPART-project (Interreg project:www.bepart.info) which published a book on ‘Teachingentrepreneurship’ (ISBN 978-3-7908-2037-9) andEndeavour (Erasmus Mundus: www.endeavour-erasmus.net)

OTHER REFERENCES

The feasibility and curriculum development activities have

been funded by the Estonian government and the Europeanstructural funds (ESF, ERDF and Interreg). The pilot-executionsof the master programme were supported by nationalgrants. Presently, there are 10 state-funded studentpositions in the programme, and 20-30 students pay the feethemselves. In the future, the master programme needs to beself-sufcient through student fees and study credits.

FUNDING

IMPLEMENTATION

The curriculum consists of modules of

• Entrepreneurship: ‘Entrepreneurship and Innovation’,

STRATEGY

AND ACTIONS

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approximately 10 companies (outside the ETM programme),plus the same number of students’ projects as well assupport for the incubator of creative industries at the collegeof university – Viljandi Culture Academy. Likewise CE hascontributed to similar incubators in Tartu and Tallinn.

COLLABORATION BETWEEN UNIVERSITIES IN ESTONIAIn collaboration with Tallinn University of Technology (joint)courses have been developed and included in the Master ofTechnology Governance since 2010.

The strengths of the master programme lie in itsinterdisciplinary nature (technology, entrepreneurship,

business); the access to a network of specialists who arewilling and able to teach; its uniqueness in the Baltic Statesand the sustainable structure of the courses (its followsthe normal credit-systems and remuneration). A furtherstrength is the two strands in the programme which enablesthe university to educate future staff for the support ofentrepreneurship in Estonia.

An initial weakness of the programme was that therewere no qualied staff, a factor that has been sinceovercome (e.g. by educating and training staff). The masterprogramme also needs to adhere to the academic criteriafor e.g. thesis, classes etc. thus restricting the ability to beinnovative with the courses. A further potential weakness

is that the programme has been designed to meet thedemands of the Estonian society though this can also beviewed as a key strength.


The master programme is a programme specicallydeveloped for Estonia (a transitional economy), aprogramme that meets the demands of Estonian companies.On the one hand this limits the transferability; on the otherhands it enlarges the transferability within the country andto other countries with an economy in transition.

TRANSFERABILITY

Entrepreneurship education in transitional economies,Entrepreneurship and technology

THEMES

Bollazzi, F.; Corty, E.; De Nisco, A.; Dell’Anno, D.; Feola, R.;Fernandez, J.; Gervasoni, A.; Guerriera, G.; Kaloussis, G.;Kyrö, P.; Leger-Jarnou, C.; Liñán, F.; Martínez, J.; McGowan,C.; Mets, T.; Napolitano, M.; Parente, R.; Riviezzo, A.;Roomi, M.; Vliamos, S. (2009) European Higher Educationin Entrepreneurship. Excellence Cases and Shortages.Benevento: University of Sannio.

INFORMATIONSOURCES

Dr. Dorel TammFaculty of Economics and Business AdministrationUniversity of Tartu

EstoniaPhone +372 737 6116Email: [email protected] (general information) or [email protected]


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Mets, T., Andrijevskaja, J., Venesaar, U., Kolbre, E. (2006)Entrepreneurship in Estonia: Policies, Practices, Education andResearch. 314 pages. Tartu: Tartu University Press (printing houseGreif)ISBN 9949-11-392-X - 9789949113927

Amidon, D.M., Formica, P., Mercier-Laurent,E.(2006) KnowledgeEconomics: Emerging Principles, Practices and Policies. Tartu: TartuUniversity Press, 2006 (printing house Greif)ISBN 9949-11-066-19789949110667

Volume I: Principles and Standards (380 pages)ISBN 9949-11-067-X9789949110674

Volume II: Practices (313 pages)ISBN 9949-11-068-X9789949110681

Volume III: Policy, Governance and Measurement (301 pages)ISBN 9949-11-068-X9789949110698

Mets, T. (2010) How to train educated entrepreneurs: small (post)transition country case. Socialinia tyrimai/Social Research, 4, 21,20 – 27.

RESOURCES


There is no website of the master programme. Information on theentrepreneurship activities of the University of Tartu in general:www.ut.ee/en/entrepreneurship(accessed 18th March 2011)


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CASE 3DEMOLAFINLAND

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DEMOLA PLATFORM

HERMIA LTD WITH TAMPERE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGYUNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE AND TAMPEREUNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES.

FINLAND

MAY 2011

COLLABORATION IN R&D


PROFILE

SHORT DESCRIPTION

OPEN INNOVATION PLATFORMFOR THE CREATION OF NEXT

GENERATION PRODUCTS ANDSERVICES BY DEMOLA,

FINLAND

Tampere, a city in Southern Finland, is an internationalgrowth centre for versatile services, know-how, andcreativity. It is recognised that successful business activitiesand the growth in well-being brought to the area as a resultof these activities can be enhanced signicantly throughinvestment in culture and in structures enabling innovation.

The Creative Tampere Programme accepts this challengeby creating products, successful business, and new servicesbased on content development, and by increasing theco-operation between creative sectors and business life.Demola directly responds to the issues raised in the Ahoreport of 2006 and the Finnish Innovation Strategy of 2008through its focus on open innovation in a global environment.

BACKGROUND

The objective of Demola is to boost multidisciplinary agileinnovation culture and encourage entrepreneurship in theTampere region.

AIM AND TARGET

Funded by the Creative Tampere Programme, Demola isa Finnish open innovation platform for the creators of nextgeneration products and services. Demola provides studentsand companies with a collaborative and multidisciplinaryinnovation environment where students from three regionaluniversities create demonstrations of novel service andproduct concepts coming from companies. Offeredby higher education institutes in Tampere and HermiaLtd, Demola gives multidisciplinary student teams theopportunity to develop demo products and services basedon company concepts. Companies ranging from local SMEsto international large-scale enterprises as well as publicorganisations collaborate with the teams.

Demola is an important case study because it reectssuccessful open innovation between companies and studentswithin a dedicated (neutral) innovation environment andmanages innovation ownership rights successfully.


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The development of Demola in late 2008 coincided with thepublication of a new innovation strategy for Finland to improve itscompetitive position in R&D markets given increased competitionfrom emerging countries including China and India. Finland’sNational Innovation Strategy (2008) identied that ‘aroundthe world, leading edge companies are involving consumers inproduct development. Enterprises are even processing previouslyunrecognised needs together with users, thus inuencing theemergence of a completely new kind of market. Various forms of

open and public innovation activity are gaining ground alongsidetraditional closed innovation activity. Policies must create thepreconditions for the emergence of open innovation environments.’

The Demola project can also be seen as a response to the AhoReport of 2006 on ‘Creating an Innovative Europe’, which focusedon the creation of innovation friendly markets, the strengtheningof R&D resources, increasing structural mobility in Europe and thefostering of a culture of celebrating innovation.

Demola is part of a project in Creative Tampere, the City ofTampere’s business development policy programme (2006 -2011), which aims to facilitate new business, services, innovationand creativity. The Creative Tampere Programme (Luova Tampere)

was established to accelerate this growth by promoting interactionamong representatives of different sectors in order to developnew creative concepts.

Great potential is seen in the commercialisation of creativetrades – especially in culture. The goal of the Creative TampereProgramme is to strengthen the cultural industry and to elevateit to one of the most signicant trades in Tampere. The practicalimplementation of the Creative Tampere Programme is performedin three selected theme areas: the creative industries, innovationsand entrepreneurship and attractive city. Each theme has itsown individual goals that guide the selection of projects to beimplemented.

OTHER REFERENCES

Revenue funding of €200,000 (to €300,000) per year nancedthrough the City of Tampere Business Development Programme(2006-2011) ‘Creative Tampere’.

FUNDING

Actions have been taken to ensure that all players in the regionhave been included and involved in development of the pro-ject from the beginning. Ensuring that Demola is maintained as aneutral ground resource for all local universities gives each the

condence to fully participate in activities and support innovationactivities.

IMPLEMENTATION

STRATEGYAND ACTIONS

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Involvement from all participants is voluntary. The valuefor participants must be clear and present. By establishingthe platform, which is open to all disciplines, and creatingsolid tools and methods, which are universal, the platform isexpandable and has proven to be a valuable tool for manyindustries.

Financiers and Demola facilitators work together tomonitor the status and results of projects and the Demolaenvironment as a whole. Some of the key gures from therst two years of operations include:

More than 500 students engaged:

• More than 30% international students• 72% of students involved seriously consider becomingentrepreneurs.

More than 110 projects delivered:• 96% of completed projects licensed by project part-

ners• More than 10% of students headhunted• New start-ups, Protomo teams and co-founders• €500 rewards to students.


In order to sustain the growth and future of Demola, stepsare being taken to integrate innovation projects into the coreuniversity course structure. These include offering dedicatedDemola courses, integrated into the curriculum, thus offeringstudents from all local universities the chance to work inmulti-disciplinary teams with support from professors andindustry professionals.

The New Factory concept helps to ensure that results andproducts created in Demola will have a path for continuationand development into business-creating concepts.Furthermore, national and international networks are beingcreated to both generate talent ows between regionsand to create maximum value for the players involved and

partner companies.

SUSTAINABILITY


The Demola project was the winner of the 2010 RegionalInnovation Award from the Assembly of European Regions.

The key results of Demola highlight the engagement of over500 students in developing product and service conceptswith project partners and with over 110 projects completedor in development. As a result 96% of results are licensed,

new jobs have been created and new companies have beenestablished. Within the project, in excess of €500,000 hasbeen awarded to students.

ACHIEVEMENTS

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Demola operates on a region-wide basis with three universitiesengaged in the project. The range of stakeholders involved in theproject is important with the project being managed by HermiaScience Park and funded through the City of Tampere. The projectalso operates on a limited budget enhancing the overall value ofthe achievements and impacts.

The role of the students is central to the success of the programme.It is their commitment to team working, problem-solving and

creating demonstrable solutions that enhances the delivery of theproject with the support of industry mentors and Demola staff.

SUCCESS FACTORS

The development of Demola and its open innovation approachhas been further enhanced with its integration into the ‘NewFactory’ platform which also includes Protomo and Suuntaamo asinnovation approaches that respectively support the developmentof innovative ideas by entrepreneurs and business professionalsand the engagement of citizens in innovation, product and servicedevelopment.

IMPACTS

The establishment of Demola as a neutral ground location, notdependent on any one partner or university, has allowed exibility

in growth and has given condence to potential new partnerswhen joining. Running in a cost-efcient and agile manner hasallowed quick reactions to changing environments and events.

Focusing on producing concrete demo results has helped to lead achange in the mind-set of innovation thinking in local environments.It has also helped to change some minds to an entrepreneurialpoint of view.

The implementation of the project has been resource intensiveand a continuing development process. Positive development hasrequired a regular cycle of evaluation and adjustment to methodsand tools.


The Demola project approach is highly transferrable to otherindustry-university settings.

The key features that should be considered are the neutrallocation (not in the university, not in a business), the approach toownership of results balancing industry and student perspectivesand the stafng of the facility.

The development of the ‘New Factory’ open innovation platformalso provides for transferability with its Protomo and Suuntaamoprogrammes alongside Demola adding value to the openinnovation support offer.

TRANSFERABILITY

Open Innovation, CollaborationTHEMES

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Project Websitehttp://demola./what-demola-new-factory

New Factory Open Innovation Platformhttp://uusitehdas./en

Funding Programmewww.luovatampere./eng

Assembly of European Regions, Winner 2010 Regional

Innovation Award Prolewww.aer.eu/leadmin/user_upload/MainIssues/ Economic_ Development/Innovation-award/Winners/IA_brochure-projects_Tampere_v3_nal.pdf(all accessed 18th March 2011)

INFORMATIONSOURCES

Petri Räsänen,Demola of New FactoryFinlandEmail: petri.rasanen@hermia.

Ville KairamoDemola of New FactoryFinland

Phone: +358 40 566 7182Email: ville.kairamo@hermia.

Bernard GarveyInternational CoordinatorDemola of New FactoryFinlandPhone: +358 40 823 5376Email: Bernard.garvey@hermia.


RESOURCES

Finland National Innovation Strategyhttp://ec.europa.eu/invest-in-research/pdf/download_en/nland_national_innovation_strategy.pdf(accessed 18th March 2011)

Aho Report, Creating an Innovative Europehttp://ec.europa.eu/invest-in-research/action/2006_ ahogroup_en.htm(accessed 18th March 2011)


Demola on YouTubewww.youtube.com/watch?v=_tX888Qnb2s

(accessed 18th March 2011)


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CASE 4REAPIRELAND

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COUNTRY

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PROFILESHORT DESCRIPTION REAP is a collaborative project involving eight HEI partners, for

the research, development and validation of a Higher Education-Industry Partnership Model and Roadmap. It will identifylearning needs within workplaces, draw up a comprehensiveplan for partnership between employers and HEIs and verifythe effectiveness of the strategy through a diverse range ofdemonstrator collaborative activities. It will provide the gatewayto integrate and rationalise complementary initiatives and offer asingle simple, relevant, inclusive framework to facilitate interactionwith the workplace.

This case study example provides information on a structuredapproach for employer-academic partnerships at an institutionallevel adopted with eight HEI’s.

REAPING THE BENEFITS:PARTNERING EMPLOYERS AND

HEIS TO CREATE THE LIFELONGEDUCATIONAL PATHWAY

BACKGROUND The project is funded by the Irish Strategic Innovation Fund(Cycle II) in line with the ‘human capital’ objectives outlined in theNational Development Plan 2007-2013.

It builds on the activities of the Strategic Innovation Fund (CycleI) project, Education in Employment (EIE) that promoted a ‘learnerled’ model of education providing those in the workforce whowanted to undertake a third-level qualication the opportunityto do so through establish workplace-education collaborativepartnerships.

ROADMAP FOR EMPLOYMENT - ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS (REAP)

CORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGYSEVEN HEI PARTNERSIRELAND

MARCH 2011

LIFELONG LEARNING

STRUCTURAL INSTRUMENT OR APPROACH

The project aims to identify learning needs within the workplace,draw up a comprehensive model for partnership betweenemployers and HEIs and verify the effectiveness of the modelthrough a range of demonstrator collaborative activities. Themain aim is to develop a mechanism to integrate and rationalisecomplementary initiatives and offer a relevant, inclusiveframework to facilitate interaction with the workplace.

AIM AND TARGET

Through its examination of existing relationships between learners,employers and HEIs and the establishment of a roadmap for thedevelopment of successful partnerships, the REAP project address-es the needs identied in the National Development Plan (NDP)2007 – 2013.

OTHER REFERENCES


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The NDP set a national objective for the Higher EducationSystem to be among the leading OECD countries. A keyarea for action was identied as the ‘development of a highskilled, adaptable workforce through continued emphasis onlifelong learning and training of those in employment.’

Revenue funding of €4,205,000 was initially allocatedto the project. Funding was secured through the StrategicInnovation Fund (SIF), a multi-annual fund, totalling €510mover the period 2006 – 2013. A number of reductions tothe SIF budget meant that the overall funding allocated wasreduced over the project timeframe.

The fund is directed towards the support of innovation inHEIs, particularly enhancing collaboration between HEIs,improving teaching and learning, supporting institutionalreform, promoting access and lifelong learning andsupporting the development of fourth level education.

FUNDING

IMPLEMENTATION

The strategy for the REAP project is based on an initiallearning needs analysis that has reviewed and researchedthe learning needs of workplace sectors followed bypartnership model development.

The initial learning need-analysis strand has key actionsincluding a review of employers, learning needs andpartnership approaches, and regional and sectoralresearch.

The partnership model development activity has threekey strands: implementation and validation, integrationand dissemination aimed at establishing a framework ofemployer, and HEI collaboration based on specic activitiesand context.

The REAP project adopted a ‘trial implementation approach’specically delivering demonstration programmes in

specialist targeted courses, co-operative placements,academics and researchers into the workplace, professionalpostgraduate programmes, and industry into academia.

In each demonstration programme particular emphasishas been placed on situational analysis, good practiseidentication, cost-benet analysis, scalability andtransferability, and the production of practical reports andguidelines.

The integration and dissemination strands of the REAPproject seek to support the HEI mainstreaming, transferand wider dissemination of the employer-HEI framework

established in the implementation strand through networkingand collaboration with education and employer ledorganisations, and the wider publicity of good practicescases and guidelines through the establishment of a virtualgateway/portal.

STRATEGYAND ACTIONS

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The project is monitored through a series of regular reportsrequired by the funding agency. These reports tend to bequarterly in the case of nancial reporting and bi-annual in thecase of reporting on outcomes and outputs. The project outcomesreporting format is dened by the HEA and includes details ofobjectives met, outputs and outcomes achieved, collaborationsdeveloped, and on-going plans. The nancial reporting formatrequires details of spending and expenses incurred and ‘matched’activity reported by institutional partner and by project activity or

strand.In addition to these regular reporting formats a mid-termevaluation of the Strategic Innovation Fund was carried out inNovember/December 2009 by Dr Gordon Davies who wascharged as an external expert with reviewing and rating allactivities funded under the Strategic Innovation Fund.

The subsequent metrics of success will be part of the REAP projectclosing report:• Structures in place to support partnership activity• Staff development and awareness raising activities• Networking and partnership generating events

• Dissemination and circulation of reports and practise guides• Website visits and hits

There is on-going monitoring and evaluation of the project activitywithin each of the eight HEIs in the partnership. A Steering Group,whose membership includes a representative of each of thepartner institutions regulates and controls the project activity. TheHigher Education Authority, as the funding organisation on behalfof the Department of Education and Skills is responsible for theoverall project monitoring and evaluation.


Two strands of the REAP project, namely integration and

dissemination, are directed at sustainability activity.The integration strand of the REAP project supports HEImainstreaming, transfer and wider dissemination of the Employer-HEI framework established in the implementation strand ofREAP through networking and collaboration with educationand employer-led organisations ensuring integration withcomplementary programmes and initiatives.

The dissemination strand of REAP will establish a virtual gateway/portal that is designed to be a reference point for relationshipdevelopment and a repository for case studies and reportsproviding a practical guide for HEIs and employer organisations.

SUSTAINABILITY

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All academic partners have undertaken activities to developnew partnerships and to enhance existing partnershipsto meet learning and R&D needs. An exploration intothe potential of external engagement and partnershipactivities has raised awareness and set the agenda for aconsideration of the structuring of HEIs in order to maximiseactivity. This has yielded changes to management structures

in a number of partner colleges.

A number of events have been held to create networkingopportunities and to unlock the potential of greaterunderstanding across the University/Business divide.

Research into the experiences and views of the three mainactors in the undergraduate placement process, the HEI,Employer and Student have been distilled into a reportwhich provides a framework for good practice and anumber of useful guidelines and checklists.

A number of extended case studies of customised course

development in collaboration with industry partners havebeen shared among the consortium and will be developedinto practice guidelines for specialised course development.Some project publications include:• Learning Needs Analysis in Selected Employment Sectors

(2009)• Partnerships for Progress – HEIs and External Engage-

ment Conference Proceedings (2010)• Work Placement in Third-level Programmes (2011)

In addition to these reports a number of conference papersbased on the project work have been published.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Some of the main contributors to success include:• Availability of funding from Department of Education

and Skills in difcult economic times• Support of institutional management for research into

engagement and mechanisms for enhancing engagementwith employers

• Willingness of the project institutional partners to shareexperience and expertise

• Support from beyond the consortium including ExpertGroup on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN), Irish Business

Employers’ Confederation (IBEC), National QualicationsAuthority of Ireland (NQAI)

Factors limiting progress include the uncertainty of funding

SUCCESS FACTORS

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during difcult economic times, and, resulting from that, somevariation in the willingness of some partner institutions to commitresources to the project. Employers, too, are constrained by theeconomic environment from some of the engagements, for exampleundergraduate placements and industry - academia staffexchange, which were envisaged in the original project submission,became more difcult in times of headcount limitations.

At a project implementation level one of the most signicant andpositive unforeseen impacts of REAP has been the opportunityfor project participants to create an informal network beyond

their own institutions allowing access to a range of expertise andexperience that was otherwise unavailable to them.

At a project level REAP has also provided a platform for dialoguebetween the Institutes of Technology and national agenciesincluding the Ministry of Education and the Higher EducationAuthority and as a result, enabling the project to provide input topolicy and strategy.

IMPACTS

REAP at an institutional level has provided an appropriateframework for understanding and examining institutional-employer relations. At the project level REAP has brought togethera signicant range of institutions each with differing aspects to

their missions and vision. A key strength of REAP has been thestrength of its management ensuring the success of its collaborativeapproach.

A key weakness of the programme is the reliance on public fundsfor survival.


The REAP case study provides a transferable methodology foranalysing, piloting and conceptualising a framework for employer-academic partnerships. It provides a ‘needs-driven’ basis for theidentication of the broad strands of partnership activity betweenHEIs and employer organisations on a regional, national (memberstate) and sectorial basis. The framework established throughREAP will be of interest to other member states, regions andinstitutions. However, it will not be directly transferable outside ofIreland, given cultural and contextual differences.

TRANSFERABILITY

Partnership Model, Roadmap, Workplace, Lifelong LearningTHEMES

Project Websitehttp://reap.ie(accessed 18th March 2011)

Funding Website

www.hea.ie/en/sif(accessed 18th March 2011)

INFORMATIONSOURCES

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Irene SheridanProject LeadStrategic Innovation Projects UnitCork Institute of TechnologyBishopstown, CorkIreland

Project Websitehttp://reap.ie(accessed 18th March 2011)

Acknowledgement: The support and input of Irene Sheridanand Cork Institute of Technology in the construction of thecase study were greatly appreciated


RESOURCES

Ireland National Development Plan (2007 – 2013)www.ndp.ie/viewdoc.asp?fn=%2Fdocuments%2FNDP2007-2013%2Foverview.htm(accessed 18th March 2011)

Project PresentationJohn Murphy, EU-University Business Forum, Malahide,Dublin, October 2009http://ec.europa.eu/education/higher-education/doc/business/ireland/report_en.pdf(accessed 11th August 2011)


Project Website: http://reap.ie(accessed 18th March 2011)

Funding Website: www.hea.ie/en/sif(accessed 18th March 2011)


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CASE 5MOBILITY AT ULLATVIA

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CASE STUDY TITLE


COUNTRY

DATE



PROFILESHORT DESCRIPTION The University of Latvia (UL), focusing its strength as a prominent

research university, is a developing Eastern European exampleof student and academic mobility good practice. Throughinvolvement in the Baltic States region, as well as their expansionin Europe with the INENTER project that began in 2010, theyhave developed a strong structural base and functional systemfrom which to build further elements of an ecosystem supportingstudent and academic mobility. By maintaining an emphasis onimproving the placements of students in different sectors, as wellas enhancing both academic and administrative staff professionaltraining and workshops, UL is providing a good example for other

HEI’s looking to develop their competencies in the area of mobility.

EMERGING FROM STRONGSTRUCTURAL FOUNDATIONS,

THIS BALTIC REGION PLAYER ISNOW EXPANDING ITS IMPACTIN MOBILITY WITHIN EUROPE

BACKGROUND UL was rst involved in student mobility with the Erasmusprogramme (then Socrates) in 1999. Furthermore, they are anactive participant in the Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP)for students and staff such as Comenius, Leonardo da Vinciand Grundtvig. The University of Latvia is currently involved inve Erasmus Mundus projects which include staff mobility, bothacademic and administrative.

As a member of many Baltic region projects (eg Baltic Sea RegionUniversity Network – BSRUN) and European projects, universityacademic staff are developing good networks for exchange ofideas, co-ordinating placements and providing management skills.Their continued growth in mobility and their involvement now in theINENTER project with thirteen partner institutions from ten differentcountries provide the UL with solid background and experience.

MOBILITY AT UL

UNIVERSITY OF LATVIA (UL)

LATVIA

OCTOBER 2011

PERSONNEL MOBILITY


UL aims to establish better student mobility placements inprofessional training programmes and increase exchanges toachieve a 10% student mobility exchange by 2020.

The university is a partner in the European funded INENTERproject, which aims to help HEIs such as the University of Latviaprioritise specic quality strategies that can identify needs, raise

awareness and fully develop the models, tools and measures forgood practice regarding internships at all levels in industry andenterprises.

With academic personnel, the aim is to increase personalinternational experience of professors/tutors (e.g. lecturing

AIM AND TARGET


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abroad, joint projects with other institutions) and improvelanguage skills, especially at an administrative level. It is theUniversity of Latvia’s aim to aid professional developmentof students and staff through stronger communication andcooperation between enterprises and academia.

European Commission, Education and Culture DG LLP,509962-LLP-1-2010-1-CY-ERASMUS-ECUE.

INENTER commenced in October 2010 and will last for twoyears with a total budget of € 390,943.

FUNDING

IMPLEMENTATION

Over the last two to three years, UL has taken a much largerstep in professionalising their mobility activities throughan established system that is functioning productivelyincorporating student bodies, faculty co-ordinators inacademia and a central administrative system for handlingof both outgoing and incoming student placements.

At UL there is a document that regulates the organisationalprocedure of the student placements. The documentdetermines who is responsible for what in the organisationof the student placements, the nancing of the placements

and the ofcial registration of the placement in theinformation system of the UL. This document also containsannexes with different examples of documents that shouldbe used in organising the placements:• agreement between the UL and the hosting institution on

the conditions of the placements,• document that regulates the registration of the place-

ments in the University of Latvia,• agreement between the student, UL and the hosting insti-

tution (both in Latvian and English languages).

This document agrees on the organisation of placementsboth in Latvia and abroad. Each study programme has an

additional document that regulates the organisation of theplacements within the respective study programme, statingthe aims, objectives, duration and place as well as theguidance, responsibilities of persons involved and reportingof the placement. The document is available to all facultieswithin the HEI.

The implementation of a guide booklet to good practicesfor international student placements in various Europeancountries will be set up within the INENTER project.Additionally, there will be a survey, round-table meetingsand conferences for sharing knowledge among theinstitutions where the UL is an active participant. UL is alsoa major player in the Baltic region, being a coordinatingmember of BSRUN, which was founded eleven years ago.

UL supports the mobility of its academic staff as one

STRATEGYAND ACTIONS


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of its most important prerequisites for renewal of ideas andprofessional staff development. Academic staff is employed for atleast one semester every ve years in a foreign country institution.At least 5% of academic staff must deliver lectures in partner HEIsabroad.

Evaluation is carried out both internally and externally. Figures onstudent incoming and outgoing placements are evaluated insidea table and presented at end of each year for re-evaluation.There is also monitoring of student placements through Erasmusprogramme and monitoring of project involvement in the INENTERprogramme. The external evaluator for INENTER has beensubcontracted to offer services for the duration of the project.

Professors and administrative staff training experiences are alsoevaluated at end of each year, as well as nancial grants forstaff. There is an academic re-election process that is also carriedout every ve years.


It is very important to incorporate more people, motivate staffthrough new training courses, receive input from internationalcoordinators and motivate faculties (especially faculties thatare not as active in placements/academic training), increaseinternational experience in new projects and widen thesystem overall. The ability to share experiences is seen duringparticipation in the INENTER project. This project will help tobroaden the expertise over a far greater network.

Greater involvement of companies to offer paid internships isanother option to develop the sustainability of the initiative. Withreference to the companies, increasing their interest in cooperatingwith the science sector, through further initiatives such as science-business will inuence the level of sustainability. A basic-levelEuropean course on the project’s subject would further contributeto its sustainability.

SUSTAINABILITY


NORTHERNEUROPE

ACHIEVEMENTS UL has broadened possibilities for both university placements andplacements in business now to 42 professional study programmes(both Bachelor and Master). Students should have practicaltraining within these programmes for at least one semester.Faculties have industry and business agreements to full this task.Professionals from industry and business are involved in the nalexamination commission work as well as the accreditation of theprogrammes.

The Career Centre organises ‘career days’ for students andhas a database for business and industry companies whichare interested in cooperation. There is continued growth withapproximately 500 outgoing students and 190 incoming exchangestudents (including placements) last year. There is a solid functional

system in place at all levels of university for student and academicmobility. The Erasmus programme placements have increased from4 students a few years ago to now 26 students most recently.



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The success of the programme is established throughresponsible people, programmes, funding guidelines andagencies that support and facilitate mobility. It will be inincreasing the number of student placements and expandingindustry and other university involvement. Further, success isdetermined by how many will get a job after the internship.Knowledge transfer and experience will be enhancedthrough INENTER and other projects.

SUCCESS FACTORS


NORTHERNEUROPE

Whilst gures of academic mobility to business are difcultto obtain, academic staff are involved in teacher mobility topartner HEIs, an indicator of the level of academic mobilityto business. Outgoing and incoming teacher exchanges haveincreased signicantly over the last ve years, with latest2010 gures showing 74 outgoing and 41 incoming teacherexchanges.

Partner HEIs organise visits to companies or institutions, whichdo not refer to academic commitments, however are neededfor additional expertise (especially in natural sciences).Moreover with the INENTER project, the development ofgood practices for staff training mobility is to be developedand will be another valuable project outcome.

Short-term

UL is striving hard to enlarge numbers for participation ofboth student and academic mobility’s, rstly at a nationallevel but also within other European networks including theBaltic region, the former Soviet Union countries and theNetwork of Universities from the Capitals of Europe (UNICA)and the INENTER project.

Long-termThe objective is to achieve sustainability in all processes.UL wants to make faculties within the university moreaccountable and active in promoting both student andacademic mobility. Some faculties, such as medicine, havealready established international good contacts. They arealso looking at allocating more university funds towardsteacher training programmes. Participation of studentsin more international companies is a long-term universityinitiative.

IMPACTS

The number of incoming and outgoing students is a positivefactor in the developing growth of UL. There is a CareerCentre for nding placements and wonderful supportsystems in place, such as student bodies and the Erasmuscouncil, as well as within the faculties with their internationalcoordinators. The students participating in exchanges havethe opportunity to go abroad and acquire interesting

international experience.The INENTER project is also helping as it involves largenumbers of European players. The project, therefore, is anexample of a very exciting partnership.



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The level of transferability of this good practice from the UL isvery high and the direct participation in projects such as INENTERand others provide further sources of knowledge transfer amonginstitutions. Thus, all previously acquired knowledge and skills canbe put to use in the HEI in which they will work.

TRANSFERABILITY

Student internships, knowledge transfer, human resourcesTHEMES

www.inenter.euINFORMATIONSOURCES

Ms. Alina GrzibovskaDirector, International Relations DepartmentUniversity of LatviaLatviaPhone: +371 67034334Email: [email protected]


INENTER yer available on the project website

RESOURCES


www.inenter.euDATABASES ANDWEBSITES


NORTHERNEUROPE

Language knowledge within staff, and especially administrativestaff, is an identied weakness. Academic staff across somefaculties are not always willing participants in mobility.International coordinators have a role to play in motivating staff.At the moment at the faculty level, strategies are revised withineach faculty whereas the university strategy is implemented abovethe faculty level.


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CASE 6CSESWEDEN

NORTHERNEUROPE

CASE STUDY TITLE


COUNTRY

DATE



CHALMERS SCHOOL OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP (CSE)

CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

SWEDEN

APRIL 2011

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT AND DELIVERYENTREPRENEURSHIP


PROFILE

Established in 1997, Chalmers School of Entrepeneurship(CSE) provides for the development of entrepreneursthrough a two-year master’s programme that incorporatesthe development of new technology companies by 'matching'student teams (teams of 2-3 students) with a scientist orinnovator to take forward a business idea into a business.The programme integrates entrepreneurial education withreal-world incubation through a venture-creation approach,where at the end of the process, business ideas have thepotential to be incorporated, with students (and the scientist/

innovator) taking ownership shares in the newly formedbusiness.

CSE provides an important case study, established overmore than a decade, on the integration of entrepreneurshipwithin an academic structure, particularly technologytransfer, the development of students as professionalentrepreneurs, and the promotion of an entrepreneurialculture and spirit within a university environment.

SHORT DESCRIPTION

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURECREATION AND START-UP FACTORY

Mats Lundqvist and Sören Sjölander from the departmentof Innovation Engineering and Management at CSE decidedto establish the School in 1995 based on reection that

there was a gap between university research and themarketplace. This gap could be lled by individuals willingto take package-able ideas, develop business strategies,etc. and take them to the market. The programme, initiallycalled Entre, was launched in January 1997. Initially, theprogramme was a one year ‘nal-year’ master for studentsin the depa

casestudyreport.pdf

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