University-Industry Collaborations (UICs): A Matter of Proximity Dimensions?

This episode discusses how different types of proximity (geographical and non-geographical – cognitive, organizational, institutional, and social) influence various types of collaborations between universities and firms. Drawing on a survey of 1200 Norwegian businesses and a case study of a Norwegian multinational enterprise, Utku Ali Riza Alpaydin examines the university-industry collaboration (UIC) process (initiation, outputs, types, geography, motivation) from the firm perspective. Utku emphasizes that proximity, in general, is important for UICs, but their importance changes by collaboration channels and that proximities can be developed during the collaboration process. He concludes by pointing out to the need to pay attention to the non-traditional collaboration types, such as education-oriented projects, and to increase the match between local university competences and regional industrial needs given the higher share of collaborations at the regional level.  You can read more about Utku’s research by following this link. https://uis.brage.unit.no/uis-xmlui/handle/11250/2732397