Blog articles

As part of the final output of the Engagement Readiness Monitor project, we are excited to announce the launch of a special issue of the UIIN magazine – Connect. It  is now out and available online, get reading here. Universities’ role in society has come to the fore in recent years and it is becoming

Within the Engagement Readiness Monitor project our consortium comprising of five European countries’ representatives has developed a self-assessment tool, a toolkit of six key dimensions of engagement readiness and a total of 150 single tools, as well as a process of receiving recommendations for the use of those tools, or, so to speak, a customised

To successfully be engaged, it is important for universities to go beyond the traditional idea of research and education as their sole missions. Often, universities see these two missions as something separated by the so-called Third Mission, encompassing those activities through which universities generate impact (economic, financial, social, cultural) for the surrounding society at large.

Engagement is crucial for universities, especially when it comes to interactions with the local territory. A university does not lie in an empty space. There is a mutual relationship between the territory and the university. One shapes the other and vice versa, modelling ecosystem’s relationships. Yet, Lambert’s Report (HM Treasury, 2003: 14) was right by saying that

Asset mapping is the process of identifying, documenting and systematizing the existing resources, strengths, and benefits of an entity, such as an organization or a community, to incorporate them into the decision making and development work (Baird, n.d.; What is Asset Mapping?, 2004; Shahid, Vaska & Turin 2019). It is a “capacity-focused” and “strength-based” approach

Why KTO employees’ motivation is crucial The Engagement Readiness Project aims to improve universities’ readiness to collaborate with businesses. As highlighted in the Engagement Readiness Investigation Report (2021), Knowledge Transfer Offices (KTO) can play a key role in promoting university-industry collaborations (Villani et al., 2017) and, therefore, improving universities’ readiness. It has been recognized that

The past two years have exemplified the new social change facing societies at large. The apparent transformations in the climate, the growth of technologies and sciences, increasing urbanization, globalization and increased mobility have met the global pandemic and now even a global security threat. These developments, and especially their interconnectedness, complexity and the universal scale,

This blog post is part of a series exploring the factors within four key themes that contribute to university readiness for engagement, as identified by the Engagement Readiness Investigation Report. While, as has been demonstrated by this blog series, an HEI’s strategic orientation towards deep engagement with industry and society is crucial, without adequate organisational

This blog post is part of a series exploring the factors within four key themes that contribute to university readiness for engagement, as identified by the Engagement Readiness Investigation Report. Already available in this series, you can read about the importance of an ecosystem approach, and a collaborative organisational culture. The next and final post

This blog post is part of a series exploring the factors within four key themes that contribute to university readiness for engagement, as identified by the Engagement Readiness Investigation Report. Also in the series, you will hear about the importance of the ecosystem approach to engagement, research and educational pedagogy and key resources that make

This blog post is the first of a series exploring the factors within four key themes that contribute to university readiness for engagement, as identified by the Engagement Readiness Investigation Report. Also in the series, you will hear about the importance of a collaborative organisational culture, research and educational pedagogy and key resources that make

In conversation with Engagement Readiness Monitor partners, Christian Lechner offered his insights on university-business cooperation and contributed his valuable knowledge on the topic. Christian Lechner is Professor of Entrepreneurship at LUISS’ Department of Business and Management and at Luiss Business School. Previously he held faculty positions at Toulouse Business School and at the Free University

  Blog editors: Alexandra Zinovyeva (UIIN) and Fleur Schellekens (UIIN)   Header photo by Derek Thomson on Unsplash  

In conversation with Engagement Readiness Monitor partners, Silvia Vecchi offered her insights on university-business collaboration readiness and contributed her valuable knowledge on the topic. Silvia Vecchi is the University-Business Collaboration Office head at the University of Bologna’s Research and Third Mission division. She promotes university-industry relations to enhance and diversify collaborations, improving their quality and

In conversation with Engagement Readiness Monitor partners, Vera St'astna offered her insights on “engagement readiness” and contributed her valuable experience on the topic. RNDr. Věra Šťastná heads the Department of Analyses and Strategies at the Rectorate of Charles University (Prague, Czech Republic) since 2008. She has long been involved in the development of higher education

Through engaging with external partners, HEIs can increase their meaningful contributions to their cities, regions, and nations. However, we still lack depth and understanding of the means and factors that enable external engagement. During the first half of 2021, the Engagement Readiness Monitor Project partners have talked to many experts to gain an in-depth understanding

Engagement is a complex process that, despite the effort for clear definition and categorization of activities (Galán-Muros & Davey 2019; Jääskö et al 2018), cannot be perfectly unified. Even within united Europe, the structures of society, industry and higher education vary from country to country, and as main actors in the observed interaction they define

As we conducted the expert interviews for the Engagement Readiness Monitor project, we got a wide range of opinions, experiences, and visions of HEI’s engagement, UBC interaction and readiness. However, there was one aspect that all interviewees recognized as crucially important – the human factor. As stated in the Situation Analysis of UBC of the Ministry

A number of expert interviews were conducted in the spring of 2021 as a part of the Engagement Readiness Monitor project. With their help we revealed the important role of engagement for every single higher education institution and its surrounding stakeholder organizations. Engagement is to some extent a natural part of HEI’s operations but also

Earlier blog posts discussed the why and how of university-business cooperation, technology readiness measuring tools, and the knowledge and technology transfer process. This blog post is a summary of the desktop review conducted by UIIN and examines the concept of ‘readiness’ with the focus on innovation from the perspective of a single organisation. To understand

Within the IO1 – Engagement Readiness Investigation Report, CU has primarily performed Desktop research focused on describing the knowledge and technology transfer process as means for informing the readiness concept including 1) what is knowledge transfer (KT) and technology transfer (TT), 2) what are the processes underpinning KT and TT, 3) who is involved and

Technology readiness in literature is discussed from two different standpoints. Firstly, it could mean the readiness of individuals to adopt new, cutting-edge technology in their work or other everyday life activity. The Technology Readiness Index, developed by Parasuraman and Colby, is a psychometric scale often used in marketing. It is a licence tool that could

The university is not an institution that could live alone in society, separated from the other actors. Universities generate impact, and at the same time are influenced by the public and private sectors, at both local level and national-international one. The awareness about this mutual relationship has been growing over the last decades. Nowadays, universities

Institut Mines-Télécom Business School (IMTBS) is one of 13 graduate schools in the Institut Mines- Télécom, one of France’s major educational and research establishments. In addition to IMTBS, the Institute groups many of the country’s key engineering schools and plays a central role in developing both ground-breaking and applied research, innovation and education for engineers,

University of Bologna: Dedicated to entrepreneurship and UBC  The Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, founded in 1088, is the oldest university in Western Europe. Nowadays, we still remain one of the most important higher education institutions across Europe and a leading research institution, well known for academic engagement, third mission and university-industry collaboration. The

CU: University-Business cooperation Charles University – CU is the biggest university in the Czech Republic and is a leading academic institution in the Central European region. Being a renowned academic HEI, we also contribute to the solution of urgent social problems and supports the practical application of the outcomes of its research and links to

JAMK University of Applied Sciences: forerunner in sustainable entrepreneurship JAMK University of Applied Sciences is a next generation university that lies on experimentation, innovation, collaboration and proactive mindset. JAMK consists of 8500 students from over 70 countries, and 700 staff members in four campuses around Jyväskylä Region surrounded by thousands of lakes and immense forests

Advancing the future of university-industry engagement UIIN is an international leader on university-industry engagement, entrepreneurial & engaged universities and knowledge transfer. We are dedicated to advancing the future of higher education institutions and supporting our global community of university-industry professionals. We conduct research, organise events and provide training and consultancy services to our community of

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have an enormous potential to better contribute to their cities, regions, and nations through calling upon the society, government and businesses to work together. This can be done through developing future talent to power out economies, supporting employees’ career development and lifelong learning, offering important discoveries to the local community, or