Universities and Innovation in Regional Strategic Planning Culture

Abstract

The relevance of university-industry relationships to economic development is matched by the prolific research work that has been carried out on the interaction between the academic sector and productive systems. However, this research is almost exclusively focused on technology transfer. Considering the context of the emerging knowledge-driven economy in which institutional capacity emerges as a major competitive factor, this paper argues that there is a need to broaden the analytical framework in relation to university-industry links. This argument is based on the perception that universities can play a major role in building regional institutional capacity. The case of the University of Aveiro is explored to illustrate this additional dimension of university-industry interaction.