Long-term industry-university partnerships work best to drive innovation

Long-term strategic partnerships between universities and industry that run for 5 to 10 years are the most productive at driving innovation, according to a study published today by the Science|Business Innovation Board AISBL, a not-for-profit scientific association create to improve the climate for innovation in Europe. 

Successful industry-university partnerships also require strong support by university rectors and top management, as well as teams on both sides capable of “crossing boundaries” and bridging the cultural divide between business and academia, the study concluded.

Universities and industry have been collaborating for over a century, but the rise of a global knowledge economy has intensified the need for strategic partnerships that go beyond the traditional funding of discrete research projects. World-class research universities are at the forefront of pioneering such partnerships.

The world’s elite universities are now forging collaborations that run longer, invest more, look farther ahead and hone the competitiveness of companies, universities and regions. In short, they transform the role of the research university for the 21st century , anchoring it as a vital centre of competence to help tackle social challenges and drive economic growth.

But it’s a big leap. It requires each side to engage far beyond the conventional exchange of research for funding. When they work well, strategic partnerships merge the discovery-driven culture of the university with the innovation-driven environment of the company. To make that chemistry work, the study says, each side must overcome the cultural and communications divide that tends to impair industry-university partnerships of all types and undercut their potential.

The Science|Business Innovation Board commissioned the study to help address the challenge of bridging the industry-university divide by highlighting what makes universities attractive as industry partners, what structures make for excellent partnerships and what approach produces seamless interactions.

It builds on a growing pool of academic research about the state of industry-university collaboration and offers concrete lessons and recommendations from experienced managers on both sides of the divide.

Governments keen on supporting strong industry-university collaboration should ensure a predictable, stable environment of funding and regulation; give universities the autonomy to operate effectively, and form partnerships; reward activist, collaborative universities – and encourage more to be that way, the study concluded.

Funding incentives work well. Government policy should reward, or at least not discourage, universities and companies that form strong partnerships. New government programmes, such as proposed by the EU and some national governments, should entice others to take the same step.

Finally, to promote strategic partnerships, policymakers should help universities strive for excellence. Companies want to work with the best – and so Europe must take care always to feed and promote its best universities, in order that more job-creating partnerships can be formed.