The Role of Universities in a Knowledge Economy

The knowledge economy incorporates intellectual capital and human knowledge into new technology, information processing and decision support systems, machines, automation and digitalization to generate economic value. Human capital and talents are the drivers of innovations, new superior products and sustainable competitive edge. The roles of educational institutions can be summarized in investing in research and development and training the workforce. It is the partnership between government, businesses and educational leaders for a comprehensive approach to local and a regional economic and job growth model that has resulted in the growth of cities such as Albany, Pittsburgh, Akron, Columbus, Buffalo, Phoenix, Allentown, and many more. Knowledge, innovation, and technology are now recognized as the drivers of productivity and economic growth. The tight clusters of knowledge and diverse talented people in dense places drive economic progress, for instance Silicon Valley that brings billions of dollars in venture capital to San Francisco every year. In a knowledge economy, production is based on knowledge-intensive activities and highly skilled workers with a college degree, high productivity, and consequently high wages. Statistics on the economic characteristics of the cities with the significant role of universities in their recent success in transforming their economy to growth and prosperity will be analyzed. Implications of the study will be to enhance the environment for university-public-private partnerships to bring research, innovation, entrepreneurship, jobs and economic growth to big and small cities