The ceiling to coproduction in university–industry research collaboration

The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into government attempts at bridging the divide between theory and practice through university–industry research collaboration modelled under engaged scholarship. The findings are based on data sourced from interviews with 47 academic and industry project leaders from 23 large-scale research projects. The paper demonstrates a ceiling to the coproduction of knowledge arising from the preconceived beliefs of both academics and industry partners regarding project roles and responsibilities. The findings show that coproduction was constrained by academic partners assuming control over much of the research activities and industry partners failing to confront or challenge academic decision-making because both academics and industry partners placed a higher value on academic knowledge compared with applied or practical knowledge. It is argued the theory of engaged scholarship, and consequent initiatives to encourage engaged scholarship, fail to account for the superior status of academic knowledge.     

Determining the influence of heterogeneity in graduate institutions on university–industry collaboration policy in Taiwan

In this study, we assumed that organizational heterogeneity is a key factor influencing the effects of university–industry cooperation policy in higher education institutes. Gender difference, faculty position, faculty member nationality, and diversity in academic expertise were considered as the indicators of heterogeneity. One-hundred graduate institutes with doctoral programs were selected from 881 departments offering doctoral programs in Taiwan as our target group. Correlation analysis, regression analysis, and curve estimation according to the concept of Blau’s index were conducted to determine the effects of graduate institute heterogeneity. Gender difference in graduate institutes played a crucial role on the effect of university–industry collaboration. The results reveal that excessive or insufficient differentiation among faculty positions has an adverse effect on university–industry collaboration, presenting both advantages and disadvantages in this case. A Blau’s index value of 0.56 for faculty position differentiation indicated optimal performance in university–industry collaboration. To enhance university–industry collaboration, this study suggests that the optimal fit proportion of faculty numbers in graduate institutes is seven professors to two associate professors to one assistant professor. Diversity in expertise in graduate institutes also indicated improved performance in university–industry collaboration. Determining how to diversify the expertise in graduate institutes is critical for improving performance and must be considered at specific institute level. The findings provide specific strategies for graduate institutes to reallocate their human resources to optimize their performance in this field.     

Relations of power and knowledge: university–industry relations in business studies in Finland

In the globalized neoliberal economy, business schools and business science has become a dominant societal institution and discourse. However, this has not directly strengthened the position of business schools in the societal networks of power. This paper examines this paradox by depicting who are the actors in the field and how these actors seek to influence what passes as legitimate knowledge in the discipline of business studies. Informed by actor network theory (Latour in Reassembling the social: an introduction to actor-network theory. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005) and drawing on the antenarrative analysis (Boje in Narrative methods for organizational and communication research. Sage Publications, London, 2001), the paper considers the understated dynamics of negotiation over the form and content of academic knowledge in a local context (cf. Alferoff and Knights in Br J Manag 20(1):125–142, 2009). The paper depicts the change that has occurred from the early 1990s till today. First, the potentially influential actors will be identified. Second, two maps of networks in different points of time will be traced. In the contemporary network, the gatekeeper role of business schools is undermined by new prominent actors. The paper shows how business schools, instead of gaining a high power position, are now more dependent on a variety of other actors, who increasingly define what passes as relevant and valid knowledge in business studies.     

Intensification of university–industry relationships and its impact on academic research

This paper analyses the intensification of university–industry relationships and its impact on university research. The paper consists of recent follow-up research to an international comparative research project conducted in the 1990s. It deals specifically with the Québec (Canada) situation. Twenty-eight in-depth interviews were conducted in the winter of 2003 with university researchers and an additional five interviews with technology transfer officers. The interviews were conducted in six francophone higher education institutions in Québec. With regard to university–industry relationships, the interviews revealed that university researchers in scientific and technological fields conducted innovation-oriented research, which benefits their graduate students and the institution itself. Freedom of publication is somewhat conditioned by intellectual property constraints. Thus, a majority of university researchers adopt an “entrepreneurial ethos” which they find compatible with their academic values. The intensification of university–industry relationships may also have latent dysfunctional effects with regard to conflicts of interest, as some university researchers have created start-up companies which act both as research funding sources and as beneficiaries of research results. Thus, intellectual property and conflict of interest issues evolve in a grey zone and are often sources of stress and tension for researchers. However harsh some disputes may become over these issues, they are resolved, at least in the context analysed in this research, in ways that satisfy both the researcher and the institutions.

Redefining university roles in regional economies: a case study of university–industry relations and academic organization in nanotechnology

The emerging field of nanotechnology has created a new frontier for the convergence of university and industrial research. In the United States, major federal investments provided a massive boom for this field over the decade. This paper reports on a case study of how the University at Albany came to establish the first college of nanotechnology in the US, as part of a larger R&D complex oriented towards building a regional nanoelectronics cluster. The case points to the role of entrepreneurs in mobilizing ideas and resources to advance novel organizational forms. This study demonstrates how a mode of technology transfer based on research facilities was deliberately used to build a nanotechnology complex at Albany, highlighting the enabling role of state S&T policies in supporting university engagements in regional economic development.     

Opportunities and limitations for learning within teachers’ collaboration in teams: perspectives from action learning

Researchers posit that teachers' teaching and learning are improved by teachers' collective efforts to examine and reflect on practice. Yet the questions of what and how teachers learn when collaborating with colleagues remain unanswered: What kinds of knowledge and skills do teachers acquire in conjunction with their collaboration? What brings about teachers' learning when they collaborate in teams? And how does their learning affect their practice? In this paper I will examine to what extent action learning can contribute to answering these questions from a Danish perspective.

I begin the paper by presenting action learning, which formed the framework for the teacher team collaboration that provides the empirical fundament of this paper, and by discussing my roles as consultant and researcher. Thereafter, first the possibilities, then the limitations of teachers' collaboration in teams for learning are discussed. Finally, several methodological dilemmas are considered and the paper's conclusions are presented.     

Development of university–industry partnerships in Kazakhstan: Innovation under constraint

This paper examines university–industry partnerships (UIPs) in Kazakhstan. The study described here explored the kinds of collaborations with industry that universities have undertaken, their purposes and benefits, and the contextual barriers to such partnerships. Our findings suggest that UIPs in Kazakhstan remain weak and are largely limited to employers’ involvement in teaching, the provision of internships for students, and technical consultancies. We argue that the goal of policy makers to develop robust research partnerships that contribute to innovation and economic growth is constrained by heavy faculty teaching loads, poor institutional support for research, constant reforms in the higher education system, and little consistency in the priorities of the fast-changing Ministers of Education.     

University–industry relations in Bolivia: implications for university transformations in Latin America

This article examines the implications of how academics respond to the debate on the production of knowledge and its transfer to the productive sector, for the transformation of Latin American universities. The empirical analysis is based on a survey of 349 lecturers from Bolivian public universities, which inquired into aspects of university–industry relations (UIR). Although the results indicate that lecturers are in favour of relations with firms, there are several barriers to such relationships, such as lack of institutional support, generally unfavourable atmosphere in universities, and an industrial structure comprising few firms in knowledge-intensive sectors and firms with low absorptive capacity. In the context of Bolivia, unlike what occurs in developed countries, UIR have been configured around scientifically unimportant activities—technological support and internship schemes to place students in firms—which has had a negative effect on the consolidation of research, an academic activity, to which lecturers devote little of their time. The results of our study show the tensions that exist in efforts to change the university model; there is a reluctance to intensify the commercialisation of research results, and a lack of enthusiasm for introducing complex relationship mechanisms, such as the creation of hybrid structures.

Promoting teachers’ instructional practices in alternative assessment through teacher collaboration

This paper reports the findings of a study which aims to examine the processes and effectiveness of the collaboration between teachers in their professional learning which some Singapore schools are currently engaged in. The learning process attempted to raise the profile of teacher professionalism in classroom alternative assessment through action research. A total of nine schools participated in this two-year study. Participants included teachers and school leaders. Guided by a university researcher and supported by a cluster superintendent and school leaders, the collaboration helped familiarise teachers with alternative ways of assessing student learning, connect theories with practice in their classroom assessment, and acquire the skills of doing research. Facilitated by a structure that supports the development of partnerships between teachers from different schools, the collaboration focused on teachers working on a common task. The data reveal how teachers took ownership of their own learning through this process and led their peers in their respective schools in curriculum customisation through alternative assessment practices. Such an education reform process, which has driven the effectiveness of the collaborative teacher learning in promoting teachers’ instructional practices, is analysed from four dimensions, namely, (a) macro level (systemic reform), (b) school level (school improvement plans), (c) teacher level (teacher community), and (d) micro level (classroom level). This paper concludes with a discussion of the challenges in sustaining teacher collaboration across schools in Singapore.     

Performance measurement in university–industry innovation networks: implementation practices and challenges of industrial organisations

From the perspective of industrial small and medium size enterprises (SMEs), this study explores the implementation of performance measurement practices and challenges in university–industry innovation networks. In this research, two single-case studies were conducted to explore the implementation practices and challenges of performance measurement in university–industry collaborations. Thirty Finnish SMEs in the first innovation network and 10 Finnish SMEs in the second innovation network participated in university–industry collaboration that were established to facilitate their involvement in a long-term innovation process. The results of the study revealed that industrial SMEs are interested in the performance measurement of societal-level outputs by university–industry innovation networks, even though they face challenges in understanding the aims and goals of the funding programmes. Furthermore, the results showed that the industrial SMEs understood the intellectual nature of the university–industry innovation networks, but their performance measurement activities were business related. Also the lack of understanding of the context and the process of the performance measurement in university–industry collaborations seemed to shift industrial organisations’ focus to the content stage of the performance measurement and to the use of traditional performance measures and tools to estimate the advantages gained.     

Doctoral students on the university–industry interface: a review of the literature

Doctoral students are highly important in university—firm relationships, since they are significant producers of knowledge in collaborative research projects, they are an important channel for knowledge transfer between universities and firms, and are vital in network configurations between firms and universities. An increasing number of doctoral students interact with firms, but we know relatively little about the experiences of these students or how collaboration influences their training, research and subsequent careers. With this in mind, this paper presents a literature review of (1) theoretical assumptions concerning the roles doctoral students are expected to fulfill in university–industry relationships, and (2) empirical research of doctoral students’ interaction experience and outcomes of doctoral student-industry interaction. The aim of the paper is to develop hypotheses for further research on doctoral student—industry interaction.     

Changing state–university relations: the experiences of Japan and lessons for Malaysia

This article investigates the changing state–university relations in Japan and Malaysia. Its main objective is to identify and examine possible lessons for Malaysia, based on the Japanese experience. Notably, since the late 1970s, Malaysia has been looking towards Japan as a model for socio‐economic development (the ‘look‐east’ Policy) and this article was written with the same underlying thrust. Of particular interest in this article is the Japanese experience with the Incorporation of National Universities in 2004. Malaysia has corporatised all state‐controlled universities since 1998 but has stopped short of implementing the kind of institutional autonomy, which resulted in precarious state–university relations in Japan. Based on the situation in Japan with regard to incorporation of national universities, what steps should Malaysia take in order to develop a higher education system and higher education institutions that are comparable to that of matured higher education systems?     

Organizing the ‘productive transformation of knowledge’: linking university and industry in traditional manufacturing areas

The article aims at underlining the role played by extra-academic and autonomous organizations strongly connected with university institutions and researchers in producing, acquiring, transferring and transforming knowledge. The study examines a particular Italian case, the Politecnico Calzaturiero, a private institution providing technical training and research services operating in North-eastern Italy. The analysis of this experience suggests that, in traditional manufacturing areas, organizations playing a key role in managing the ‘productive transformation of knowledge’ may be neither universities nor firms. ‘Special organizations’, like the one discussed in this article, are deeply embedded in their economic and institutional environment, are closely interconnected within a dense and extended network of various actors, engage in complex and time-consuming processes, and can be understood as organizational relé, that is entities which are able to connect structures that are usually not connected. For these reasons, they represent an underestimated resource for universities’ third mission and its management.     

The politics of collaboration: discourse,identities, and power in a school–university partnership in Hong Kong

This article reports on how teacher educators from a university, acting as facilitators, supported teachers in conducting a school-based action research project as a practice of professional development in the context of reform in language assessment in Hong Kong. In particular, the article problematises how the facilitators and teachers negotiated and managed identities whilst being engaged in a collaborative action research project. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews. Critical discourse analysis was used to examine the textual data. A key finding was that identities were neither fixed nor finite in the context of collaboration, but were negotiated within and against a range of contextually salient discourses. A major contribution of the article lies in its examination of the complexities of negotiating identities when educators from two different institutional cultures collaborate. The article suggests that collaboration has to be understood within broader sociocultural contexts to identify the interplay of forces that shape relations, identities, and practices constructed.     

Patriotism in British schools: teachers’ and students’ perspectives

Because there are good arguments both for and against loving one’s country, patriotism should be taught as a controversial issue in schools. But is this pedagogical approach practically viable in the British educational context? Here we report on a small‐scale survey of teachers and students in secondary schools and show that their perspectives and practices are highly compatible with our recommended approach.     

Engineering graduates’ skill sets in the MENA region: a gap analysis of industry expectations and satisfaction

This study explored gaps between industry expectations and perceptions of engineering graduates’ skill sets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This study measured the importance that managers of engineers placed on 36 skills relevant to engineers. Also measured was managers’ satisfaction with engineering graduates’ skill sets. Importance and satisfaction were used to calculate skill gaps for each skill. A principal components analysis was then performed, consolidating the 36 skills into 8 categories. The means of importance, satisfaction, and skill gaps were ranked to determine the areas in which graduates needed improvement. Results showed significant gaps between managers’ expectations of and satisfaction with all 36 skills. The areas in which managers felt that graduates needed most improvement were communication, time management, and continuous learning. Managers reported that recent engineering graduates exhibited low overall preparedness for employment. These findings may help to inform curricular reform in engineering education.     

Sharp focus on soft skills: a case study of Malaysian university students’ educational expectations

In 2006, the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia, recommended that all public institutions of higher learning in the country incorporate soft skills formation into their curricula. This qualitative study aimed to explore Malaysian students?? expectations of university education with a special focus on the acquisition of soft skills and to examine the students?? perceptions of the instructors?? and the courses?? effectiveness in fulfilling their educational agendas. Ninety-six students at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) participated in this study. The findings revealed that their educational expectations were varied and diverse and could be separated into three categories, such as ??Life Skills??, ??Subject Matter (Hard Skills)??, and ??Soft Skills??. The students considered soft skills formation as an important part of university education. However, not all of the soft skills identified by the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia, were mentioned by the respondents. The article discusses the implications of the study??s findings for Malaysia??s higher education policy.     

Teacher leadership in university–school collaboration for school improvement (USCSI) on the Chinese Mainland

Educational Research for Policy and Practice - This article presents the findings of a qualitative study on teacher leadership in the context of university–school collaboration for school...     

Toward Stewardship of Democratic Ideals: Using students' perspectives to improve school‐university collaboration and model democratic practice

A healthy democracy values and depends on diverse perspectives to maintain flexibility and to make ongoing improvements that better serve its various groups. Our analysis of qualitative data from interviews conducted with students in two professional development school settings (school-university partnerships) showed that students were not regularly asked to provide their views of schooling or of school renewal efforts. The analysis further showed that students in this study, both young children and maturing adolescents alike, held personal knowledge that could contribute to adults' understandings of their work. The article is organized into five sections. First, we describe the innovation that provided the impetus for the study. Second, we describe the study's design. The third and fourth parts—students' perspectives on their schools and on the changes they were experiencing—represent the heart of the article. We conclude by placing the students' perspectives in the larger context of schooling for democracy—the theoretical framework for the study.     

Impact evaluation from quality assurance agencies’ perspectives: methodological approaches,experiences and expectations

Starting from the main objective of external quality assurance (EQA) procedures to assure and improve the quality of higher education institutions and its provisions, the paper examines expected impacts of EQA procedures on institutions from the perspectives of three European quality assurance agencies. First, the paper examines the expected impacts of different standard parts of a typical peer review procedure on higher education institutions and assesses when a procedure is most likely to have an effect on the institution. The second part presents the current practices of the three EQA agencies, AQU Catalunya (Spain), Evaluationsagentur Baden-Württemberg (evalag) (Germany) and the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (Finland) on assessing the impact of their EQA procedures.