University-Industry Collaboration: where to next?

The focus on the third mission of Universities is now some decades old. Boyer’s assertion that ‘theory simply cannot be divorced from practice’ and that any consideration of the role of faculty ‘must give new dignity and new status to the scholarship of application’ (Boyer, 1992) has been embodied in the almost ubiquitous linking of scholarship to real world issues and applications. There is a general acceptance that the knowledge and skills required in existing and emerging labour markets are often not well served by universities while at the same time there is a realisation that these skill requirements are rapidly changing (Muller, 2015). Collaboration between universities and industries is seen as essential to innovation sys-tems, with a number of researchers pointing to the impact of such collaboration on both the company’s ability to innovate and the generation of economic value within the country and the region. In Ireland a plethora of documents and a range of agencies purport to support and incentivise various forms of engage-ment interactions (Department of Education and Skills, 2017, 2016, 2015). Despite the significant apparent importance placed on university enterprise interactions, concrete measures of impact are severely lacking. Focus at a government agency level tends to be on the (relatively few) impact measures associated with technology transfer activity (Knowledge Transfer Ireland) while the myriad of more common interactions such work-placement opportunities for students, industry-based project activity, site visits, cultural and community interactions, subject matter expert seminars and customised and practice-based learning for those in the workplace tend not to attract as much attention. This full range of possible interactions has been the focus of the work of the CIT Extended Campus – a codification of interactions and an engagement mapping exercise provide a valuable perspective on the potential of collaboration across the academic-industry divide. It is recognised that the motivation and ability to collaborate changes with company size, sector and culture. Geography impacts on collaboration with many companies in collaboration with neighbouring universities, however the quality of the university is also a factor (Laursen, Reichstein, & Salter, 2011) (Fitjar & Gjelsvik, 2018). The factors that influence the scale and scope of engagement within a university differ from those which impact from the business perspective and while ‘the cultural divide between universities and industry runs deep’, effective measures can make a lasting difference (Science | Business Innovation Board, 2012). According to the Central Statistics Office over 99% of enterprises in Ireland are SMEs. While Cork Institute of Technology has worked to support interactions with all sectors and sizes of industry partners over many years it is still not clear that local industry has a knowledge of the possibilities and benefits of engaging. Using the initial results of the State of University-Business Cooperation study (Science to Business Mark-ing Research Centre, 2017) as a framework and question guide, a brief review of the motivators and barriers as experienced by small and medium enterprises is conducted and the findings provide some direction for future efforts

Case Studies in Industry: What We Have Learnt

Case study research has become an important research methodology for exploring phenomena in their natural contexts. Case studies have earned a distinct role in the empirical analysis of software engineering phenomena which are difficult to capture in isolation. Such phenomena often appear in the context of methods and development processes for which it is difficult to run large, controlled experiments as they usually have to reduce the scale in several respects and, hence, are detached from the reality of industrial software development. The other side of the medal is that the realistic socio-economic environments where we conduct case studies -- with real-life cases and realistic conditions -- also pose a plethora of practical challenges to planning and conducting case studies. In this experience report, we discuss such practical challenges and the lessons we learnt in conducting case studies in industry. Our goal is to help especially inexperienced researchers facing their first case studies in industry by increasing their awareness for typical obstacles they might face and practical ways to deal with those obstacles.Comment: Proceedings of the 4th International Workshop on Conducting Empirical Studies in Industry, co-located with ICSE, 201

Examining the Connections within the Startup Ecosystem: A Case Study of St. Louis

This paper documents the resurgence of entrepreneurial activity in St. Louis by reporting on the collaboration and local learning within the startup community. This activity is happening both between entrepreneurs and between organizations that provide support, such as mentoring and funding, to entrepreneurs. As these connections deepen, the strength of the entrepreneurial ecosystem grows. Another finding from the research is that activity-based events, where entrepreneurs have the chance to use and practice the skills needed to grow their businesses, are most useful. St. Louis provides a multitude of these activities, such as Startup Weekend, 1 Million Cups, Code Until Dawn, StartLouis, and GlobalHack. Some of these are St. Louis specific, but others have nationwide or global operations, providing important implications for other cities

Knowledge management : a learning mix perspective

How can an organization define policy for managing its knowledge ? In this article, an integrative model is proposed : the Learning Mix. It consists of 4 interacting facets: Information Technology, Learning Structure, Knowledge Portfolio and Learning Identity.knowledge management; learning; learning model

Organizational knowledge transfer through creation, mobilization and diffusion: A case analysis of InTouch within Schlumberger

There is a paucity of theory for the effective management of knowledge transfer within large organisations. Practitioners continue to rely upon ‘experimental’ approaches to address the problem. This research attempts to reduce the gap between theory and application, thereby improving conceptual clarity for the transfer of knowledge. The paper, through an in-depth case analysis conducted within Schlumberger, studies the adoption of an intranet-based knowledge management (KM) system (called InTouch) to support, strategically align and transfer knowledge resources. The investigation was undertaken through the adoption of a robust methodological approach (abductive strategy) incorporating the role of technology as an enabler of knowledge management application. Consequently, the study addressed the important question of translating theoretical benefits of KM into practical reality. The research formulates a set of theoretical propositions which are seen as key to the development of an effective knowledge based infrastructure. The findings identify 30 generic attributes that are essential to the creation, mobilisation and diffusion of organisational knowledge. The research makes a significant contribution to identifying a theoretical and empirically based agenda for successful intranet-based KM which will be of benefit to both the academic and practitioner communities. The paper also highlights and proposes important areas for further research

Learning and sharing in a Chinese high-technology cluster: A study of inter-firm and intra-firm knowledge flows between R&D employees

learning, China, knowledge work, knowledge transfer

The Tacit Knowledge Problem in Multinational Corporations: Japanese and US Offshore Knowledge Incubators

This paper examines the ‘cognitive’ and ‘societal’ aspects of the tacit knowledge transfer problem in MNCs. Based on a comparative analysis of the overseas R&D labs of US and Japanese MNCs in the UK, it examines how home-based models of learning influence MNCs’ transnational social spaces for learning and their capabilities to address the tacit knowing problem. It illustrates how the US professional ‘networks of practice’ (NoP) and the Japanese organizational ‘communities of practice’ (CoP) approaches to transnational learning unfold in practice. It also examines how divergence between home and host country institutions governing knowledge production inhibits cross-societal tacit knowing.comparative thinking; tacit knowledge; knowledge transfer in MNCs; innovation and R&D; organizational learning; communities of practice

Action learning as an enabler for successful technology transfer with construction SMEs

There is an increasing demand for construction companies to adopt and use new technologies. At the same time universities are increasingly being called upon to assist with ‘technology transfer’ through positive engagement with industry. However, there is little literature investigating technology transfer from the perspective of small construction companies which make up the overwhelming majority of firms in the sector. This paper contributes to this developing area by providing a literature review of technology transfer and proposing a holistic system required for success. Building upon this review it assesses the potential use of action learning as a means of providing this holistic solution and, in so doing, promoting technology transfer and improving the links between higher education institutions (HEIs) and the construction industry. The assessment is made through a literature review of action learning in construction and an analysis of results from the national Construction Knowledge Exchange (CKE) initiative which uses an action learning methodology to assist HEIs in supporting local construction small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The initial results show that this innovative approach, has been successful in creating synergies between academic and business worlds, helping HEIs to communicate more effectively with businesses and vice versa. However, the results indicate that innovations which small construction companies tend to more successfully adopt are those which can contribute to the business in a quick, tangible fashion, and which can be dovetailed into existing rganisational capabilities. This is found to be in marked contrast to the relevant literature which depict large companies operating in more complex networks, drawing upon them for new tacit and explicit technologies which support more long term, formal technology strategies, and which often complement some form of specialised internal research and development capability. The implication for policy is that any technology transfer initiatives need to appreciate and actively manage the different motivations and capabilities of small and large construction companies to absorb and use new technology

Transferring Collective Knowledge: Collective and Fragmented Teaching and Learning in the Chinese Auto Industry

Collective knowledge, consisting of tacit group-embedded knowledge, is a key element of organizational capabilities. This study undertakes a multiple-case study of the transfer of collective knowledge, guided by a set of tentative constructs and propositions derived from organizational learning theory. By focusing on the group-embeddedness dimension of collective knowledge, we direct our attention to the source and recipient communities. We identify two sets of strategic choices concerning the transfer of collective knowledge: collective vs. fragmented teaching, and collective vs. fragmented learning. The empirical context of this study is international R&D capability transfer in the Chinese auto industry. From the case evidence, we find the expected benefits of collective teaching and collective learning, and also discover additional benefits of these two strategies, including the creation of a bridge network communication infrastructure. The study disclosed other conditions underlying the choice of strategies of transferring collective knowledge, including transfer effort and the level of group-embeddedness of the knowledge to be taught or re-embedded. The paper provides a group-level perspective in understanding organizational capabilities, as well as a set of refined constructs and propositions concerning strategic choices of transferring collective knowledge. The study also provides a rich description of the best practices and lessons learned in transferring organizational capabilities.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39804/3/wp420.pd

Our door is always open : Aligning Literacy LearningPractices in Writing Programs and Residential LearningCommunities

Writing studies has considered college students\u27 literacy development as a chronological progression and as influenced by their off-campus connections to various cultural and professional communities. This project considers students\u27 literacy development across disciplines and university activity systems in which they\u27re simultaneously involved to look at the (missed) opportunities for fostering transfer across writing courses and residential learning communities as parallel—but rarely coordinated—high-impact practices. Rather than calling for the development of additional programs, I argue for building/strengthening connections between these existing programs by highlighting shared learning outcomes focused on literacy skills development and learning how to learn