fostering knowledge spillover through phd education by erik f. Øverland ministry of education and...
TRANSCRIPT
Fostering knowledge spillover through PhD educationBy Erik F. ØverlandMinistry of Education and Research, Norway
Official delegate to ERAC working group on knowledge transfer, EU
December 18th, 2013
Moscow
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Content
► Understanding situation and needs
► Introduction to industrial PhD
► Case study - Norway
► Added value and proposed action plan
Page 3
►Understanding situation and needs
Presentation title
Page 4
While talking about knowledge spillover...
► Russia is executing universities’ competitiveness programme with the goal of 5 universities getting to top 100
► Initiatives targeted towards competitiveness of higher education include strengthening relationship with industry, commercializing the knowledge and know-how possessed by universities, creating more value added for society while also attracting more funding from industry
► In Russia there is no clear single system for PhD education and accreditation which would be compatible with European or American degrees, which increases the complication of attracting foreign candidates and recognizing people with foreign qualifications
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Existing PhD programmes are lacking practical application
► During the time of studying, doctoral candidates obtain limited (in certain cases almost any) commercial experience in relation to science and innovation application within real business environment
► Existing organizational models for doctoral education do not explore the potential of private - public cooperation
► Due to the lack of working experience and absent network of business connections, former PhD students often struggle to find jobs that would be worthy their qualifications and years of investment in research
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Opportunity costs should be taken into account when evaluating PhD models
► Opportunity costs of employing doctoral graduate in low qualification job are high and should be prevented whenever possible. It not only dampens the potential of a young researcher but also slows down technological development of country’s economy and creation of high added value working places
► Opportunity to build stronger link with industry and to attract additional resources for university is not sufficiently exploited
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►Introduction to industrial PhD
Presentation title
Page 8
Industrial PhD as a missing link
An Industrial PhD project is an industrially focused PhD education.
► The research project is conducted in cooperation between a private company, an Industrial PhD student and a university
► The company applies for subsidy from the relevant agency
► The student is employed by the company and paid a salary during the entire Industrial PhD education
► The student divides his or her working hours equally between the university and the company over the 3-year course of the project
► Implemented in Denmark (since 1970) and Norway (since 2008), several international projects with Sweden, UK, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, under consideration in the Baltic states
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Responsibilities of the parties involved
Company:► Is the formal applicant and recipient of
the funding► Must have dedicated staff and other
resources for its own R&D activities► Must have binding collaboration with a
degree-conferring institution;► Must document the relevance of the
research project
Applicant:► Is an employee of the company;► Divides his/her time between company
and the degree conferring institution► Must have supervisors from both the
degree-conferring institution and the company
Funding:► Is awarded conditional to the
candidate’s admission to an organized doctoral degree programme
► Is awarded for a period of 3-4 years
► Is available for projects in all subjects/branches of industry and is not limited to specific fields
► Is awarded upon completion of a simple, efficient application process
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►Case study - Norway
Presentation title
Page 11
Norwegian Industrial-PhD scheme at a glance
► Norway – small country, 5 mill inh., 8 univ., 19 univ.coll.► Established 2008. In addition to conventional PhD
schemes► Funded by the ministry 2012: 38 mill NOK = 4,5 mill
EURO► Attracts a lot of positive attention from both universities, public, industry and politics► A similar scheme for public sector is going to be
launched in 2014► No limitations regarding nationality, age, sex, branch,
size► Guest research visits abroad as a part of the scheme ► Challenges:
► to coordinate costs/contracts between the single enterprise and the different universities
► Attract more attention about the scheme
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Total number of students by University
► In 2013 in Norway there were 147 Industrial PhD students (and hosting companies) and the number is steadily growing with more industry getting involved
► Each county had industrial PhD programme with NTNU, foreign univ. and UiB taking the lead.
Source:Norwegian research council (2013)
NTNU
Utenl
ands
ke u
ni.
UiBUiO
UMB
UiTUiS
NVHNHH BI
UiAHiV
eAHO
HiHm
HiMol
de HiT05
10152025303540 35
22 21 20
11 9 96
3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1
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Evaluated January 2013. Main findings:
► The scheme is satisfactory at national level. But selection criteria should be improved► Very well managed/administrated by the Research Council of Norway► Well performed projects. Still a need of better clarifications between company and university is needed ► The relation between the candidates and the university could be stronger► Most of the candidates have satisfying working conditions within their companies► Even very small firms were motivated to submit applications► Too early to see results at the company level► The Industrial-PhD scheme seems to have contributed to increased focus on research and long term competence building► The interface between enterprises and universities has been improved► Actors involved seem to be quite satisfied so far
Proposals for further improvement of the Industrial-PhD scheme► Better promotion and marketing of the scheme is necessary► The criteria for allocation of financial support should be further developed, for instance a better review of the research capacity within the single enterprise
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The first Norwegian industrial PhD
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The main differences between the Danish and the Norwegian Industrial PhD scheme
NorwayObjective: develop researchers with competences on industrial related aspects of reserach and innovation. AND competencebuilding within the single enterprises Stimulate recruitment of researchers in
the industry No limitation concerning size of
companies (>=1) Less rigid and formalised. No specific
deadlines of calls. Continously-ongoing. Financial reporting once a year Two options: a) 3 years 100 % or b) 4
years 75 % Fees for universities are negotiated. No
fixed amount
DenmarkObjective: develop researchers with competences on industrial related aspects of reserach and innovation.
Realise achievements in the interface between industry and academia
Only companies with more than 3-4 are allowed to apply
More formalised application procedures 3 calls with deadline dates a year Financial reporting 2 times a year One option: 3 years 100 %
Fixed university fee
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The main differences between the Danish and the Norwegian Industrial PhD schemeNorway The candidate has to be accredited for a
PhD program and a formal agreement between the company and the university must be in place
The Research Council of Norway (Secretariat) does only an administrative evaluation of the applications
The financial support over 3 or 4 years is supposed to cover real expences (totally 1.3 mill NOK = 154 000 Euros. Costcoverage ca 40 %
No elaborated modules of courses
MAIN DIFFERENCES: in Norway there are less complicated application procedures, and more easy for all kind of companies to take part in the Industrial PhD scheme.
Denmark No such criteria
All applications are reviewed by an Industrial-PhD council consisting of 25 member from industry and universities
Allocation of 1 mill. DK for each project. Costcoverage ca 30 %
Elaborated modules of courses
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Industrial PhD projects per subject areas
1%
20%
11%
49%
9%
10%
HumanitiesSocial sciencesMathematics and natu-ral sciencesTechnologyMedicine and healthAgriculture and Fishery
Source:Norwegian research council (2013)
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Companies in industrial PhD projects by industry
70
30
15
7
55
33 2 2 211 1 M - Professional, Scientific and Technical
Services
C - Industry
J -Information and communication
B - Mining and quarrying
N - Business services
D - Electricity, gas, waste management
A - Agriculture, forestry and fishing
G - Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles
H - Transport and logistics
K - Finances and insurance
F - Building and construction industry
Q - Health and social services
O - Public administration and defense, com-pulsory social security government
R - Arts, entertainment and recreation
Source:Norwegian research council (2013)
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Examples of companies involved
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International projects with foreign partners
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International projects with foreign partners
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►Added value and proposed actions plan
Presentation title
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State level:► Preparation of legal,
financial and organizational infrastructure and personnel capable of operating and further improving industrial PhD programs, including quality assurance and progress monitoring
Proposed approach
Idea approval
Analysis of needs and
alternatives (business
case)
Solution development Implementation
► Idea and concept presentation to stakeholders
► High level foreign practice analysis
► Legal environment and statistical data analysis
► Analysis of the needs based on 3-4 selected universities
► Development of high level business case and model alternatives
► Presentation of the business case to universities and relevant experts group
3-4 weeks
5-7 weeks
- decision points
► Specification of selected model alternatives
► Selection of the most optimal model
► Specification of implementation costs, required legal and organizational changes
► Implementation plan preparation
► Presentation of the results to universities and relevant experts group
► Final approval
University level:► Preparation for
programme implementation (out of the scope of this proposal)
to be defined
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New type of programme enhances applied research and innovation
It also:
► Develops PhD candidates’ potential in business environment and raises their employability potential after graduating
► In its essence industrial PhD model inherits strong public-private sectors cooperation and a need for mutual learning
► Reinforces the process of innovations‘ integration and applications in day-to-day business activities, research and development efforts
► Attracts more students and positively influences the image of the third cycle study programmes
► Contributes to economic growth
“By employing a doctoral student rather than hiring an expert we gain access to university research environment – giving us excellent return on our investment.”
Chris SpaggiariCTO of software company
Miriam AS
Page 25 Presentation title
► Presentation of the call for proposals► Objectives► Eligible activities► Indicators► Eligible expenditure
► Developing the project approach
Thank you. [email protected]
+47 95963817