Regional development dynamics: university-business cooperation strategies

Abstract

In today’s world, with the globalisation process, the functions of higher education institutions have changed within the framework of new strategies and cooperation models. In this process, the potential of higher education institutions to increase local, regional, national and international development and competitiveness, especially through their innovation development capabilities, becomes increasingly important. Universities, within the framework of their education, research and innovation missions, have defined their role in regional development by developing other cooperation models. The most effective way of transferring the knowledge produced in the academic field to the production process is to provide university-business cooperation. The cooperation in question both ensures the rational use of scarce resources and constitutes the driving force of national and regional development. Higher education institutions reflect political, socioeconomic and cultural characteristics of the region. Universities have to respond to the opportunities presented in the regional context by developing research agendas that reflect these characteristics and to be the focal point of the regional innovation system and trigger the process. In this study, university business world cooperation models and the effects of these formations on the regional economy are examined.