The Entrepreneurial university

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The Entrepreneurial university

• A model for renewing the public
• university system in Scandinavian countries?

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State of the art (Scandinavia)

• Objective Economic renewal
• Creation of new technology based start-ups
• Subsidising existing industry
• Regional development

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State of the art (contd.)

• Means The entrepreneurial university
• University that functions as a motor for regional
  development in utvecklingsovana regioner
• World class research university that produces new
  technology and/or dynamic start-ups

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State of the art (contd.)

• Policy Emphasis
• Attitude change (education top down steering)
• Institutionalisation diversification of
  knowledge transfer
• Legislation (transferring right of ownership from
  the individual to the organisation Norway
  Denamark have done this but not Sweden Finland)

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• Policy Emphasis contd.
• Changing the trajectory of knowledge production
  in universities
• Promoting knowledge transfer through labour
  market mobility

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• What is entrepreneurship at universities?
• Entrepreneurial activity has traditionally
  occured at 2 different levels within universities
• Individual actitivities of faculty and students
  (consultancy, grant acquisition, firm creation)

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• Entrepreneurial universities
• Organisational entrepreneurship
• Support services for individual activities
• Professional education
• Real estate and other financial investments
• Commercialisation of tuition
• Excellence in research and/or education
• Consultancy
• Community service

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• Expansion of entrepreneurial activity in
  universities
• Acting as venture capitalist for the early phases
  of venture development in its own start-ups
• Panopoly of linkage institutions for promoting
  commercialisation- technology transfer offices,
  university owned consultancy services, creation
  of foreign subsidiaries

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• Factors that are known to influence the
  commercial orientation of universities
• A historical tradition of doing industry funded
  research
• Research excellence
• Availability of internal venture capital (finance
  and competence) will increase the likelihood of
  firm formation as an expression of
  commercialisation

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• Factors that are known to influence the
  commercial orientation of universities
• Incentives incentive design - incentives that
  accrue to individual academics and universities
  for commercial activity (firm formation or
  licensing) via the university must be high enough
  to compensate for the opportunity costs, flexible
  and greater than the profits accrued by for
  example consultancy

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Clarifications to current policy focus

• Firm formation is not the only avenue of
  entrepreneurship available to universities that
  wish contribute to economic development
• e.g. MIT prefers firm formation whereas Columbia
  does not.
• Agricultural universities have served farmers for
  decades without starting firms

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Clarification contd.

• The relationship between RD spending and
  innovation is not proportionally direct not at
  the nation state nor at the university level
• Research excellence is a necessary but not
  sufficient condition for firm formation

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• What can university leaders do to promote
  entrepreneurship in their institutions?
• Take an inventory of strengths and weaknessess
• Focus on profiling by developing strengths
  filling gaps created by weaknesses through
  strategic partnerships, alliances, etc.

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• What can university leaders do to promote
  entrepreneurship in their institutions?
• Resist the temptation to run with the pack
• Develop a set of indicators for performance
  measurement for your organisation- individuals,
  institutions
• Excellence, professionalism and openness are
  benchmarking indicators that work well in all
  contexts

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• Example Burton Clarks five elements of an
  entrepreneurial university
• 1. Strengthened Steering Core
• 2. Expanded Developmental Periphery
• 3. Diversified Funding Base
• 4. Stimulated Academic Heartland

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• Example The three entrepreneurial elements in
  Swedish university strategies

Support infrastructures for commercialization
Internal knowledge build/cultural change
Outreach and cross-sectoral cooperation
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• Example The three entrepreneurial elements in
  Swedish university strategies

1. infrastructures for commercialization by
departments, faculty and students Stand-alone
business development units (e.g. Holding
company/science parks) Institutionalized advice
functions 2. Internal knowledge build/cultural
change Education and knowledge dissemination on
commercialization Idea generation and
harvesting Strategic research activities 3.
Outreach and sectoral cooperative
activities Focused bridging activities Strategic/o
pen-ended bridging activities Regional
development activities