Research infrastructure, networks of science and regional development - the case of Oskarshamn

Final deposit of nuclear waste is a a global engineering challenge. The Swedish nuclear industry has spent more than thirty years in investigating the best sites and technologies for the final storage of nuclear waste. Universities have been involved as experts in this massive R&D activity. The result has been a well-documented body of knowledge for decision support. At the same time global research infrastructure networks have been developed. More than 140 PhD theses have been produced as one of the outputs. Eleven of these PhD holders are now full professors. Based on earlier work on research infrastructures Lund, Hamburg, and Kiruna, see for instance Snickars and Falck (2015), we have addressed the question of the role of a technical research infrastructure for the development of fields of engineering and natural science at the same time generating regional development. It has provided an opportunity to empirically study the use of research infrastructure in a specialized technology field. At the same time the study investigates a municipality’s efforts to specialize in research without a university in the vicinity. Do networks of cooperation differ between research groups and research infrastructures? Can a region build its smart specialization on research infrastructure? Can research equipment once belonging to a company be transformed to a public research infrastructure asset? Our results indicate that research infrastructures as the ones in Oskarshamn are powerful creators of international research networks. It is possible although somewhat difficult in view of scattered systems for data provision to assess their academic and societal impacts. Engineering research has its own networks of university-industry and industry-university interaction where value is cogenerated dynamically. In the study we have come some way towards empirically analyzing the networks of research cooperation between industry and university using methods of infrastructure theory and network analysis

Exploration on Mode and Mechanism of ''Five-dimensional Force Drive and Collaborative Education'' for Applied Chemistry Majors

In order to adapt to the local economic development needs of Jiangsu province, especially Yancheng city, the applied chemistry major of Yancheng Teachers University constructed the teaching system with deep integration of theory and practice and strengthened the cultivation of the students' knowledge application ability, practical ability, professional position ability and innovation and entrepreneurship ability based on the demand orientation. Furthermore, the applied chemistry major of Yancheng Teachers University explored and built the mechanism of the five-dimensional force drive and collaborative education mode for universities, local governments, enterprises, industries and research institutes, significantly enhancing students' entrepreneurial innovation and engineering practice ability, and achieving the coordination and balance between the supply side and the industry demand side of talent cultivation. Keywords: Five-dimensional, Collaborative education mode, School-local government cooperation, School-enterprise cooperation, School-institutes cooperation DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-12-22 Publication date: April 30th 201

Assessing the industrial PhD: stakeholder insights

Research and practice have called for a change in engineering education towards a more practice-oriented curricula to provide engineers with the skills they need for creating solutions for future challenges. While most studies address undergraduate programs, only little attention has been paid to graduate and post-graduate education. The Industrial PhD is expected to give PhD students on-the-job training to gain practically relevant and professional tacit knowledge and to enhance their set of soft skills. However, the training of practicerelevant methods and knowledge has so far been covered by alternative programs (e.g. traineeships), exclusively organized, financed and conducted by firms, and did not involve the responsibility of universities. Therefore, for the I.PhD, conflict between involved firms and universities can be expected. In order to analyze the potential of the Industrial PhD as an answer to the question of how to effectively make engineering education more practice-oriented, the present study analyses qualitative data on the experience of both industry and university actors with I.PhD programs. Questions on a) the motives and b) the perceived challenges allow valuable insights in the functionality of the I.PhD in terms of its success in its practical conduction. The study results indicate a divergence in the perception of the general value of I.PhD program among both stakeholder groups. Major challenges can be identified, while existing work on PhD training and university-industry research cooperation (UIRC) allow the deduction of success-supporting factors, which can be believed to enhance the effectiveness of I.PhD programs for all partiesPeer Reviewe

Czech machinery cluster and its role in sustainable development of Moravian-Silesian enterprises during the post-transformation era

The paper intends to contribute to the field of geographical economics by an extensive questionnaire survey carried out in Moravian-Silesian region, which represents one of territories of traditional industry in the Czech Republic. The purpose of this paper is to analyse and assess the co-operation among enterprises, educational institutions, and public administration from the perspective of sustainability in the Moravian-Silesian region during its post-transformation era. The article deals specifically with the Czech machinery cluster. The research question that lies behind the survey is as follows: Is the co-operation of entities present in the Czech machinery cluster beneficial to the parties involved? The contribution of the paper is in uncovering the role of this cluster in the sustainable development of Moravian-Silesian enterprises during post-transformation period. Since the Moravian-Silesian region is a typical old industrial region, which moreover underwent a difficult transformation process, there are numerous peculiarities in functioning of its enterprises. Machinery was traditionally one of the supportive pillars of regional industry and it is not surprising that the machinery cluster was created as the first one. Yet, regional characteristics lie behind specific trajectories towards economic sustainability. The above ways toward economic sustainability differ markedly from the concepts that are in vogue in developed western territories.Web of Science102art. no. 23

Experiences and opportunities in teaching ukrainian students at the faculty of mining and geoengineering in AGH University of Science and Technology

The paper presents the influence of various factors on the process of internationalisation of higher education in Poland, and particularly in AGH University of Science and Technology from the perspective of the Faculty of Mining and Geoengineering. It lays out educational opportunities for learners at mining and geology study courses, and the benefits stemming therefrom for international students, including students from Ukraine. Possibilities of academic exchange were discussed and that of international cooperation, in particular with Ukraine, in order to support the potential of science and higher education in both countries. Lastly, factors were indicated in favour of taking education with AGH

The role of the user and the society in new product development

Within the knowledge-based economy several institutions are involved in product innovation processes. Literature study has shown that the most researched and cited are the industry-universitygovernment relations, presented in the Triple Helix model of institutional relations within new product development (NPD). Based on a case study of the Academic Virtual Enterprise, we have put the sole input of these institutions in NPD into question. We have tested and supported the claim that the user and the society are equal partners in the product innovation process. We have put forward the Fourfold Helix model that features a new formation of institutional relations where special focus is placed on the involvement of the user and the society in NPD