Entrepreneurial Universities

Purpose: The main purpose of the present paper is to elaborate an entrepreneurial university conceptualization which could be appropriate for developing countries.A conceptualization which distinguishes between different elements of entrepreneurial universities in developing countries,and identifies the common ones. This conceptualization considers the indigenous aspects and the contextual factors.

Design/methodology/approach: The authors used a qualitative approach to investigate the concept, more deeply, in developing countries. In order to do so, a series of semi structured in-depth interviews were conducted with ten experts in this domain. Coding of qualitative data - both interviews and documents - was used to identify new dimensions, elements, and variables. The experts were chosen from knowledgeable individuals in this domain in the universities, including university officials, professors, and officials of the Science and Technology Parks. It should be noted that non-probability sampling technique, i.e. judgmental sampling were used to find the knowledgeable experts of this field of study.

Findings: This study presents a conceptualization for entrepreneurial universities in the developing countries. The findings reveal that there are four main elements in the proposed entrepreneurial university conceptualization, which are as follows: resources, capabilities, mission, and impeding elements.

Practical implications: The results of the present study could be used for policy making in the higher education sector of developing countries. Also, the results might be compared with the other conceptualizations in different contexts.

The book studies transformations of European universities in the context of globalization and Europeanization, the questioning of the foundations of the «Golden Age» of the Keynesian welfare state, public sector reforms, demographic changes, the massification and diversification of higher education, and the emergence of knowledge economies. Such phenomena as academic entrepreneurialism and diversified channels of knowledge exchange in European universities are linked to transformations of the state and changes in public sector services. The first, contextual part of the book studies the changing state/university relationships, and the second, empirically-informed part draws from several recent large-scale comparative European research projects. Contents Contents: Introduction: Changing Universities and Their Changing Environments - Part I. The Changing State/University Relationships in Europe - Chapter 1. A Panoramic View: The Growing Complexity of the Academic Enterprise in Europe - Chapter 2. The University and the State in a Global Age. Renegotiating the Traditional Social Contract in Europe? - Chapter 3. The University and the Welfare State in Transition: Changing Public Services in a Wider Context - Chapter 4. Reforming Higher Education and Expanding the Regional Mission in the Contexts of the Postcommunist Transition, Accession, and Beyond - Part II. Towards Empirical Evidence: Academic Entrepreneurialism and Knowledge Exchange in European Universities - Chapter 5. Academic Entrepreneurialism and Private Higher Education in Europe - Chapter 6. Academic Entrepreneurialism vs. Changing Governance and Institutional Management Structures in European Universities - Chapter 7. Diversified Channels of Knowledge Exchange in European Universities: Major Parameters of University-Enterprise Partnerships.

In this paper, I focus on a phenomenon widely discussed in European higher education research and policy communities, emergent in various geographical locations across the continent: academic entrepreneurialism – especially with regard to university governance and management. Entrepreneurial universities seem to be increasingly important points of reference for international and European-level policy discussions about the future of higher education and I combine theoretical insights about “academic entrepreneurialism” with recent empirical evidence coming from 27 universities located in seven European countries. The league of entrepreneurial universities in Europe seems still relatively small. In recent years, though, the term has been widely popularized in research and policy literature in higher education, with a bulk of books and papers referring often to Burton Clark (in the tradition of higher education research) and Henry Etzkowitz (in the tradition of innovation and science policy studies). Entrepreneurial universities, functionally similar although variously termed in different research traditions and different national contexts, currently seem a useful reference point in discussions about reforming higher education systems; and especially in discussions about a possible shift in financing higher education in Europe towards more financial self-reliance and in EU-level and OECD-level discussions about how to secure sustainable development of public universities in increasingly competitive financial environment with powerful inter-sectoral competition for public funding between higher education and other state-funded public services.

Universities are an important catalyst for regional, economic and social development. Many countries have reformed legislation on academic entrepreneurship, but several research opportunities at the systems, university, and individual levels still exist. The existing literature on entrepreneurial universities provides insights about the entrepreneurial transformation process of universities in developed countries. Our study aims to contribute to a better understanding of the entrepreneurial transformation process of Middle Eastern universities. Adopting the entrepreneurial university framework proposed by Urbano and Guerrero [19], we explore two universities located in Tehran. This study provides insights about exploring the entrepreneurial transformation process, as well as policies that can stimulate the entrepreneurial activity of universities in developing countries and thus foster regional competitiveness.

Interest in offering Entrepreneurship Education (EE) to all kinds of university students is increasing. Therefore, universities are increasing the number of entrepreneurship courses intended for students from different fields of study and with different education levels. Through a single case study of the Contamination Lab of Turin (CLabTo), we suggest how EE may be taught to all kinds of university students. We have combined design methods with EE to create a practical-oriented entrepreneurship course which allows students to work in transdisciplinary teams through a learning-by-doing approach on real-life projects. Professors from different departments have been included to create a multidisciplinary environment. We have drawn on programme assessment data, including pre-and post-surveys. Overall, we have found a positive effect of the programme on the students' entrepreneurial skills. However, when the data was broken down according to the students' fields of study and education levels, mixed results emerged.

Üniversitelerin iç ve dış paydaşlarının zaman içindeki beklentileri değişince yükseköğrenimde önemli gelişmeler ortaya çıktı. "Girişimci" ya da "Üçüncü Nesil" üniversitelerin oluşumu ve bu paydaşların değişen taleplerini yerine getirmeye başlaması, bu süreçte ortaya çıkan "katma değerli ürünler", üniversitelerin ekonomik büyümede, ülke ekonomilerinde söz sahibi olmalarını sağladı. Bir üniversitenin iç paydaşları denilince aklımıza öğrenciler, akademik personel ve çalışanlar gelir. Dış paydaşlar ise sanayi, devlet ve bölgesel/lokal topluluk yani sosyal çevredir. Üniversiteler ilk ortaya çıktıkları (Aristo'nun Academia'sının hakkını teslim ederek) yıllarda, Bolonya, Paris ve Oxford ilk örnekleri olarak (MS: 1100-1200) daha çok din temelli eğitim veriyorlardı. Bu nedenle de büyük ölçüde kiliselerin söz sahibi olduğu koşullar geçerliydi. Amaçları; bilgiyi toplamak, korumak ve var olan bu bilgiyi aktarmaktı, kısacası sadece "eğitim" amaçlı kurumlardı. Öğrenci sayısı az, seyahat imkânları kısıtlı olduğundan, tek disipline dayalı, araştırmaya kapalı bu öğrenim tarzı uzun yıllar devam etti. Üniversitenin dış paydaşlarında meydana gelen değişimler ağırlıklı olmak üzere (1800'ler); sanayinin gelişmesi, araştırma kuruluşlarının sayısının artması, devletin üniversitelere kaynak ayırması gibi nedenlerle, yüksek öğrenimin yapısı değişim gösterdi. Araştırma sürecini öğrenci odaklı hale getiren, endüstri devrimiyle "uzmanlaşmayı" gündeme getiren bu yeni tip üniversitelere en iyi örnek Humboldt Üniversitesi (Prusya-1810) oldu. Bu örnekle dünyada üniversite kavramı, radikal olarak yeniden tasarlandı. Kilisenin ağırlığını ortadan kaldıran, devletin ulusal bütçeden kaynak ayırdığı laik eğitim kurumları ortaya çıktı. Ulaşımın kolaylaşması mobiliteyi hızlandırdı, öğrenci sayısında büyük bir artış yaşandı ve araştırmalar için devlet kaynakları yetersiz kalınca sponsporluklar arttı. Ortak dil olarak İngilizce kullanılmaya başlandı. Üniversiteler en iyi öğrencileri çekme ve onlara en iyi hocalarla eğitim verme yarışına girdiler.

In recent years, we have frequently come across the current term of “Entrepreneurial University”. As in every sphere of life, innovativeness has also enabled universities to turn into actors that have gradually become important centers for the regions within which they developed. When examining the development of universities, it will be seen that last generation universities are entrepreneurial and innovative universities. This has led students and academics to encourage the using of information, that is, the transfer of knowledge and technology, as well as the thinking of entrepreneurship. In this context, enterprises originating from entrepreneurial universities have evolved into an important mechanism in the transfer of information and technology and the solution of the problems of the society. Since this model of university entrepreneurship in universities size in Turkey in 2012, it has gained significant momentum. As a requirement of competition, state authorities have serious expectations in this area, while giving importance to the role of the universities in this area, as well as offering considerable incentives and support in the field of university entrepreneurship. Universities recently have been seen to highlight entrepreneurial and innovative university features in their marketing activities. But what does it mean to be an enterprising and innovative university? How entrepreneurial and innovative is the university can be measured and evaluated. In this context, TUBITAK is implementing an index that lists the entrepreneurial and innovative aspects of universities each year. The aim of the present study was to present a theoretical structure that could provide basis for the design of a tool that measures the entrepreneurial and innovative characteristics of universities in Turkey based on grounded theory. Accordingly, a qualitative and quantitative modelling was carried out regarding the environmental conditions, input and output activities of entrepreneurial and innovative universities based on the data obtained as the result of the extensive interviews with the official experts of the universities listed in the 2017 Innovative and Entrepreneurial Universities Index in Turkey. Face to face interviews were conducted with 26 academic and administrative staff members who were experts in their fields at 15 universities from 7 regions in Turkey selected from this index through purposive sampling and maximum variation. As the result of a five-step inductive content analysis, a theoretical structure consisting of 3 themes as Strategic Entrepreneurial Orientation, Potential Activation and Development and Projects and Commercialization, and 14 categories belonging to these themes was achieved. The presented theoretical model was grounded on sustainability through its process and smart approach, student-centered, social interactive, and was based on the principle of balanced evaluation of input and output activities. That there are no previous studies on how the entrepreneurial university paradigm works in Turkey and how this aspect of universities can be measured and evaluated makes this study critically important. It is possible to state that the results of this study will bring forward a radical paradigm shift in university entrepreneurship. Suggestions were developed together with discussion questions and mature comments were presented within the scope of the study.

Current disputes over the nature and purpose of the university are rooted in a philosophical divide between theory and practice. Academics often defend the concept of a university devoted to purely theoretical activities. Politicians and wider society tend to argue that the university should take on more practical concerns. I critique two typical defenses of the theoretical concept—one historical and one based on the value of pure research—and show that neither the theoretical nor the practical concept of a university accommodates all the important goals expected of university research and teaching. Using the classical pragmatist argument against a sharp division between theory and practice, I show how we can move beyond the debate between the theoretical and practical concepts of a university, while maintaining a place for pure and applied research, liberal and vocational education, and social impact through both economic applications and criticism aimed at promoting social justice.

As universidades têm sido chamadas cada vez mais a assumirem a missão de contribuir para o desenvolvimento social e econômico, para além do ensino e da pesquisa, que, historicamente, já vêm realizando. Uma das formas de fazê-lo é assumindo uma postura mais inovadora e empreendedora, seja contribuindo para o desenvolvimento de uma cultura mais inovadora e empreendedora nas regiões onde atuam, seja transferindo o conhecimento existente entre “seus muros” para o setor produtivo, para o governo e para a sociedade, seja adotando estratégias que as tornem, elas próprias, organizações inovadoras e empreendedoras. Com o objetivo de compreender como as universidades podem assumir este novo papel, o presente artigo apresenta um estudo de caso descritivo realizado na Agência de Inovação e Empreendedorismo (AGETEC) da Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina (UNISUL). O estudo de caso foi desenvolvido por meio das etapas definição do problema, delineamento da pesquisa, coleta e sistematização dos dados, análise dos dados e composição dos resultados e pautou-se num levantamento realizado por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas com os gestores e colaboradores da Agência e da Universidade e por meio da análise documental de registros e dados da própria Agência. O estudo de caso descreve o contexto acadêmico e regional no qual a Agência foi implantada, o processo de implantação, a estruturação e os principais resultados alcançados incluindo, mas não se limitando, captação de recursos, projetos de pesquisa, prestação de serviços, propriedade intelectual, transferência de tecnologia, incubadoras de base tecnológica e social, parque tecnológico e núcleo estruturante de empreendedorismo. Até o momento, os resultados apontam uma significativa melhoria da relação da Universidade com as empresas da região, com os governos municipal e estadual e com a sociedade de uma forma geral, além de benefícios diretos e indiretos para a Universidade e para as empresas. Faz-se necessário, no entanto, aprofundar os estudos empíricos acerca dos resultados da implantação da Agência, incluindo um aprofundamento dos dados quantitativos e daqueles resultados não necessariamente registrados pela própria Agência (introdução de inovações no mercado pelas empresas, aumento da receita operacional das empresas, qualidade de vida da região, entre outros). Ademais, um levantamento e/ou estudo comparativo da criação de outras agências de inovação ou estruturas equivalentes em universidades nacionais e internacionais poderia ampliar o nível de conhecimento acerca dos resultados obtidos por meio de um maior envolvimento das universidades para o desenvolvimento social e econômico e a contribuição para a sustentabilidade das universidades.

This study is aimed to study the mechanisms that contribute to increasing the economic independence of universities, which in conditions of high dependence on-budget funding is exceptionally relevant in Russia. Even though the share of extra-budgetary revenues is growing at most Russian universities, this growth is heterogeneous and partly due to the “low base effect”.
To determine the factors of economic independence of universities, we used data on the 49 largest universities in Russia over four years, taken from monitoring the effectiveness of higher educational institutions. The primary research method is regression analysis using panel data models.
The analysis reveals that the share of extra-budgetary funds of the university is positively influenced by factors such as the number and quality of publications, the number of journals published by the university, and the ratio of employees to the regional average. These dependencies are important in the long-term comprehensive planning of university activities.