Page 110 - A Handbook for Academia, Industry and Policymakers: Reinforcing the Innovation-Employability Nexus in the Mediterranean

110 REINFORCING THE INNOVATION-EMPLOYABILITY NEXUS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REINFORCING THE INNOVATION-EMPLOYABILITY NEXUS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN 111

Motivations and key success factors for collaboration sufficient to lead to collaboration, multiple companies, and all the large multinationals,
determinants can also co-exist or interact when have developed their own strategic, sometimes
organisations decide to enter a partnership or highly systematic approaches to innovation
The motivations for academia and industry to is looking to increase its competitiveness, an interorganisational relationship. Moreover, scouting and knowledge development involving
collaborate are numerous. For universities and ensure access to state-of-the art expertise and there are several factors that facilitate or inhibit multiple actors. Companies explore innovation
research centres they range from securing research facilities and enhance its reputation the collaboration , such as adequate resources, potential and partnerships with other companies,
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resources, accessing expertise and business for a comprehensive list of motivations, see incentive structures, flexible university policies, supplier firms and start-ups, in networks with a
opportunities to legitimacy; whereas industry Table 6. Although each determinant alone is
support from leadership, mutual trust and complex and constantly changing give-and-take
Possible motivations of academia and industry to collaborate commitment, continuous dialogue, strong project of ideas, knowledge, intellectual property, and
Table 6 management, built-in flexibility university- market opportunities. Universities and research
industry boundary spanners and geographic institutes are key partners in such external
Academia Industry proximity. knowledge sourcing. They provide the most
needed resource, namely competent graduates,
• Responsiveness to government • Responsiveness to government while continuously producing new knowledge,
Necessity initiatives/policy initiatives/policy Role of industry
• Part of strategic institutional policy • Part of strategic institutional policy including research-based systems and solutions
to innovation challenges. Just as vitally, academia
With the rise of open innovation (see Figure 15, is naturally disposed to scan knowledge frontiers
• Access complementary expertise,
state-of-the-art equipment, and facilities • Leverage student internships p. 109) the relationship between universities and and explore the next generation of technologies.
Reciprocity
• Employment opportunities for university • Hiring of researchers or graduates industry has changed. Facing the accelerated They can thus identify new kinds of technological,
graduates pace and complexity of innovation, companies societal, and environmental problems which
and public organisations often can no longer rely may define future needs of users and markets.
• Commercialise university-based on their internal R&D processes alone but have They are increasingly adept at looking for new,
technologies for financial gain to scan and absorb externally sourced relevant often interdisciplinary approaches to solving
• Benefit financially from serendipitous knowledge in a wide variety of disciplinary areas, such problems, thus expanding horizons, and
• Access funding for research (e.g. research results sectors and institutions. In a study carried out
government grants for research, lab • Cost savings (easier and cheaper than to 100 showing the path toward future technologies.
equipment, infrastructure) obtain a license to exploit foreign by the European University Association in HEIs can increase their visibility as actors in the
Efficiency • Business opportunity (e.g. exploitation of technology) 2019, representatives from companies across innovation ecosystem by creating a profile on
research capabilities, deployment of • National incentives for developing such the board comment frequently on such open SEMED, a digital platform that brings together
intellectual property rights (IPR)) relations such as tax exemptions and grants forms of innovation, while acknowledging the loosely connected intersectoral players in highly
• Personal financial gain for researchers • Enhance the technological capacity and continued importance of closed innovation for
economic competitiveness of firms diverse cultural and regional circumstances.
• Shortening product life cycle competitive product development. The study Details about SEMED can be found at the end of
• Human capital development also revealed that most technologically oriented this chapter.

• Shift in knowledge-based economy
(growth in new knowledge) The most productive collaborations are built around a shared
• Shift in knowledge-based economy • Business growth vision based on deep professional ties, trust and mutual benefits
(growth in new knowledge) • Access new knowledge, cutting-edge
• Discover new knowledge/test application technology, state-of-the art that bridge the cultural divide between academia and industry.
of theory expertise/research facilities, and
Stability • Obtain inputs for curriculum complementary know-how
development/review • Access to research networks or
• Expose students and faculty to practical pre-cursor to other collaborations
problems/applied technologies • Solutions to specific problems
• Publication of papers • Subcontract R&D (e.g. in case of lack of
inhouse R&D)
• Risk reduction or sharing

• Societal pressure
• Service to the industrial
community/society
Legitimacy • Promote innovation (through technology • Enhancement of corporate image
exchange)
• Contribute to regional or national economy
• Academics’ quest for recognition or
achieve eminence

Source: Adapted from Ankrah S & AL-Tabbaa, O. (2015) 98