Levels of University & Industry Cooperation
University–industry links can have different aims, scopes and institutional arrangements. Cooperation can be more or less intensive and can focus on teaching or on research. It may take the form of a formal equity partnership or a contract, or it may be limited to research projects or patent licensing. There are also university–industry partnerships that consist only of formal or informal mobility of people, publications and conferences, and interaction in expert groups.
The most important distinction in university & industry cooperation is between long-term and short-term models. Short-term cooperation usually consists of on-demand problem solving with predefined results, carried out through contract research, consultancy and licensing. Long-term cooperation is associated with joint projects and public–private partnerships, including privately funded university institutes or laboratories, joint university–industry research centres and research consortia. Longer-term cooperation is more strategic and open-ended. It provides a versatile platform, built on universities’ skills, methods and tools, through which companies can develop stronger innovation capacity over time.
