Knowledge Networks: Collaboration between industry and academia in design

Design education and industry can benefit greatly from collaboration. This paper discusses mechanisms of knowledge transfer through collaborative research, between academia and industry. It focuses upon the area of product and industrial design, detailing approaches to open innovation where industry and academia collaborate and form successful partnerships. Through case studies, it identifies how academia can facilitate knowledge transfer between numerous industries and across disparate market sectors. It concludes with an overview of the potential benefits to collaborators

Barriers Against the Transfer of Knowledge Between Universities and the Industry in Newly-Industrialised Countries - An Analysis of the Regional Innovation System of Bangkok

This paper presents empirical evidence on university-industry relations (UIR) and knowledge transfer in the regional innovation system of Bangkok and broaches the issue of adapting well-established concepts for the analysis of innovation processes in newly industrialising countries. The potential for UIR is restricted due to 1) a weak and fragmented innovation system, 2) low technological and absorptive capacities in the industrial sector, and 3) slowly improving research capabilities in the scientific sector. Hence the level of UIR in the regional innovation system of Bangkok is mainly limited to occasional and personal modes. It is suggested to strengthen the knowledge transfer capabilities within both actors and to establish effective mechanisms for bridging institutional barriers between academia and industry.

The development of Knowledge Transfer and Technology Transfer with Port Talbot Waterfront Enterprise Zone

Wales has recently seen a concerted attempt by the Government, Academia, and Industry to transform into a knowledge-based economy through increased collaboration across these three sectors. Industry and Academia must share knowledge and technology to assist regional growth. Key to this change has been the emergence of policy-led programmes like Enterprise Zones to catalyse regional growth by focusing support on a specified area. Such efforts to foster innovation in a region have been contested. Can Enterprise Zones benefit from university innovation in Wales? The Port Talbot Waterfront Enterprise Zone is a unique illustration of how Enterprise Zones foster regional progress. This study used a qualitative, Action Research approach to map the South West Wales Port Talbot Waterfront Enterprise Zone's context. This involved identifying key issues that impact Knowledge and Technology Transfer in the region to identify barriers and possibilities. A careful evaluation of the literature and policy contexts revealed initial focus areas of interest to test throughout the investigation. Interviews were conducted in Academia, Industry, and Government to understand people's experiences and identify enablers and barriers to knowledge and technology transfer. The research findings give examples of regional knowledge and technology initiatives and suggested areas for improvement that might help South West Wales and the Port Talbot Waterfront Enterprise Zone promote these activities in the future. This analysis finds that stronger collaboration between Academia and projects like the Port Talbot Waterfront Enterprise Zone would boost South West Wales' knowledge and technology transfer potential. The Port Talbot Waterfront Enterprise Zone gives a chance to foster Industry, Academic, and Government collaborations. This would minimise the 'University Structure' barrier by allowing Academic stakeholders to work with Industry in a neutral setting. This thesis helps Academics and practitioners understand and create innovation in post-industrial regions

Knowledge transfer opportunities for the bioscience sector in Chile.

In this article, the movement of knowledge and discoveries that take place in Chile, between academia and industry is reviewed. Examples of knowledge transfer activities, such as training, consultancy, contract and collaborative research as well as licensing relating to Chile’s bioscience sector are presented. In addition, a knowledge transfer ‘fitness’ index of Chile’s six leading universities is derived and analyzed. As a result, an approach for obtaining efficient knowledge transfer activities tailored to the biotechnology industry in Chile is proposed. Indeed, it is recommended that universities that lack intellectual property rights or knowledge transfer capacity concentrate their efforts in developing tailor made consultancy services, focused on biotechnology projects that could be turned into research collaborations with biotechnology companies. Finally, a number of useful information resources about the developments currently taking place in the biotechnology sector in Chile as well as a detail description of the mutual long term benefits of research collaborations to industry and academia are offered.En este artículo, la transferencia de conocimiento y de los descubrimientos que se realizan en Chile, entre la academia y la industria. Ejemplos de actividades de transferencia tecnológica, tales como entrenamiento, consultorías, contratos e investigación colaborativa como también el licenciamiento relacionado con el sector de las Biociencias en Chile son presentados. Adicionalmente se presenta un índice de “salud” de transferencia del conocimiento derivado del análisis de las seis Universidades líderes. Como resultado, se propone una aproximación para la obtención de actividades eficientes de transferencia tecnológica, ajustadas a la industria biotecnológica chilena. Así también se recomienda que las Universidades que carecen de derechos de propiedad intelectual o de capacidad de transferencia tecnológica, concentren sus esfuerzos en el desarrollo de servicios de consultoría, enfocados en los proyectos de biotecnología que podrían transformarse en investigaciones colaborativas con las compañías biotecnológicas. Finalmente, se ofrecen un número de fuentes de información útil acerca de los desarrollos que usualmente toman lugar en el sector biotecnológico en Chile, como también una descripción en detalle de los beneficios mutuos a largo plazo de las investigaciones colaborativas.In this article, the movement of knowledge and discoveries that take place in Chile, between academia and industry is reviewed. Examples of knowledge transfer activities, such as training, consultancy, contract and collaborative research as well as licensing relating to Chile’s bioscience sector are presented. In addition, a knowledge transfer ‘fitness’ index of Chile’s six leading universities is derived and analyzed. As a result, an approach for obtaining efficient knowledge transfer activities tailored to the biotechnology industry in Chile is proposed. Indeed, it is recommended that universities that lack intellectual property rights or knowledge transfer capacity concentrate their efforts in developing tailor made consultancy services, focused on biotechnology projects that could be turned into research collaborations with biotechnology companies. Finally, a number of useful information resources about the developments currently taking place in the biotechnology sector in Chile as well as a detail description of the mutual long term benefits of research collaborations to industry and academia are offered

In Light of Visual Arts – A knowledge transfer partnership project as experiential learning

Knowledge transfer between universities and the commercial sector is becoming more prevalent, and different processes have been adopted to facilitate the transfer of knowledge. The ‘In Light of Visual Arts’ project aimed to facilitate knowledge exchange in relation to an innovative concept, the ‘eco-philosophy of light’, between the lighting industry and the arts and cultural sector through an Informal Learning approach. Young visual artists, light designers and lighting technicians were encouraged to explore and exchange experiences in the areas of visual communication, art appreciation and art archiving to create practical lighting solutions. This project offers a feasible framework for the enhancement of artistic training through knowledge sharing, for the benefit of the participants themselves and, in turn, academia, industry and the community. Keywords: informal learning, experiential learning, knowledge transfer, art education, interdisciplinary stud

Individual and Organizational Aspects of University-Industry Relations in Nanotechnology: The Turkish Case

Emerging nanotechnologies bring a new challenge for developing countries to improve knowledge and technology transfer between universities and firms. In developing countries, weaker ties between academia and the industry seem to be one of the main barriers to the dissemination of nanotechnology innovations. This study aims to understand individual and organizational factors affecting university-industry interactions in emerging nanotechnologies in a developing country context, namely Turkey. For this study, 181 questionnaires were collected from a sample of nano-science and nanotechnology academics who are currently employed by Turkish universities. The results provide that informal / interpersonal and research-related interactions are the most common forms of relationship between academics and firms. On the other hand, the study provides a useful insight to understand how human and social capitals of university-scientists as well as organizational resources/ capabilities influence the formation of links between universities and the industry.Nanotechnology, nanoscience, emerging technologies, technology transfer, university-industry relations, science and technology policies, probit model, disproportionate stratified sampling, emerging economies, Turkey.

Crossing (or not?) the 'valley of death': University-industry collaborative e-platforms

The publication is available to ISPIM members at www.ispim.org.In the today’s era of the two-sided markets, the online knowledge market places (as yet2.com) are developing rapidly. Given the importance of the academia-business interface, for the economic development these online tools now emerge to assist knowledge transfer also between academia and business. However, despite their potential, the online marketplaces or platforms for university-industry innovation remain unexplored from a research perspective – although at least three streams of literature try to tackle this phenomenon to a certain extent: economics, sociology and computer science. Using nine case studies of such platforms from across the globe, we explore in-depth their role in crossing the ‘valley of death’ between academia and business. Analysing the academia-business online knowledge transfer intermediaries through the lenses of economics, sociology and computer science, we outline the theoretical scope of this emerging phenomenon, its key characteristics and share managerial as well as policy implications on its contribution to ‘crossing the death valley’

Improving collaboration between academia and industry through use of the knowledge transfer partnership.

Collaboration between the construction industry and academia has always been difficult. Both sides of the equation have different wants, needs and requirements and these are seemingly at odds with each other. However, it is well documented that, despite the challenges involved, the outputs of such collaboration are seemingly very successful. It is against this backdrop that the United Kingdom Government has recognised the importance of facilitating opportunities and helping in the development of models to assist in overcoming the gap between industry and academia. One of these models is the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP). The KTP model specifically allows businesses to solve issues they have by accessing knowledge and expertise held by academic institutions that otherwise may be out with their reach. In this paper we demonstrate how the Scott Sutherland School (SSS) and Abertay Housing Association (AHA) fostered a partnership with the aid of KTP funding to test/ monitor a solution to upgrade some of their non-traditional housing stock. We found that a deep relationship developed during the initial stages of drafting the funding proposal set the foundation for the rest of the project to date. The partnership has allowed both parties to benefit - AHA has new found knowledge of the performance of their existing housing stock, whilst SSS has added knowledge of steel house behaviour to its expertise of other house types

A topography of knowledge transfer and low carbon innovation

The growth of the knowledge economy and the changing relationship between science and society, have triggered the emergence of a ‘new role’ for universities as catalysts for innovation within national innovation policy frameworks. The Triple Helix concept of knowledge generation and innovation introduces triadic relationships between government, academia and industry. These often incorporate state driven aims of innovation development and diffusion for greater societal and economic benefit as conditions of the funding programmes. This concept is witnessed in the UK low carbon energy innovation system, where collaborative relationships are formed to develop new technologies for application by industry and society. The dynamics of the Triple Helix model bring many challenges to policy makers and those engaged in knowledge transfer relationships, stemming from the inherent nature of knowledge and the complex human interactions involved with inter-organisational knowledge transfer. Low carbon innovation has an increased need for inter-disciplinary knowledge transfer where specialised pools of knowledge are brought together for the purposes of innovation, in environments typified by uncertainty and unclear user impacts. Obstacles are compounded by the complexity of defining knowledge transfer processes and the debate surrounding the transferability of knowledge. Significant additional challenges exist within low carbon innovation, where influencing technology adoption by the public is seen as a multifaceted problem with no easy solution and requires innovation outputs to be transformed to societal outcomes. This paper aims to explore the nature of these challenges through a review of the literature on knowledge transfer, the continuing transition of academia, government and industry within knowledge generation frameworks and the specific dilemmas faced by the low carbon innovation system. This literature review provides a foundation for future research which aims to explore the concept of knowledge transfer within the UK low carbon innovation system and gather empirical data pertaining to the optimisation of collaborative project performance

Lucene4IR: Developing information retrieval evaluation resources using Lucene

The workshop and hackathon on developing Information Retrieval Evaluation Resources using Lucene (L4IR) was held on the 8th and 9th of September, 2016 at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, UK and funded by the ESF Elias Network. The event featured three main elements: (i) a series of keynote and invited talks on industry, teaching and evaluation; (ii) planning, coding and hacking where a number of groups created modules and infrastructure to use Lucene to undertake TREC based evaluations; and (iii) a number of breakout groups discussing challenges, opportunities and problems in bridging the divide between academia and industry, and how we can use Lucene for teaching and learning Information Retrieval (IR). The event was composed of a mix and blend of academics, experts and students wanting to learn, share and create evaluation resources for the community. The hacking was intense and the discussions lively creating the basis of many useful tools but also raising numerous issues. It was clear that by adopting and contributing to most widely used and supported Open Source IR toolkit, there were many benefits for academics, students, researchers, developers and practitioners - providing a basis for stronger evaluation practices, increased reproducibility, more efficient knowledge transfer, greater collaboration between academia and industry, and shared teaching and training resources