Comparative View of the EU Regions by Their Potential of University-Industry Cooperation

The Role of Open Innovation, and the Performance of European Union Regions

“…However, the centralized system of regional and innovation policy in the EU (RIS3), did not achieve the expected results, with production disparities being maintained, when compared to other regions such as Asia and North America [6]. This fact consolidates the idea that for regions to gain competitiveness, investment and innovation in technologies are fundamental [15].…”

“…Nevertheless, over the past few years, the European Union (EU) has been losing international competitiveness. When comparing EU productivity with Asia and North America, an increasingly wide disparity can be observed [3][4][5][6]. The reason for this status is because the European knowledge transfer process comprises lower stages of development when compared with the regions of Asia and North America [6].…”

“…Lately, we have been witnessing significant deindustrialization and progressive abandonment of the manufacturing sector in the EU; this contrasts with the American and Asian continents, where there has been a strengthening of this sector. With this being the case, the EU needs strong policies based on innovation to promote and accelerate regional development [6,16].…”

Universities and smart specialisation in less developed European regions: an evidence-based overview

“…However, when competing globally, universities also face challenges in recruiting university students and staff, and meeting the skills requirements of the local labor market while competing on a global level. Lilles et al (2020) have mapped all EU Member States with regional divisions at the NUTS 1 or NUTS 2 levels. The results of the study have shown that strong regions such as Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria in Germany or Stockholm and Sydsverige in Sweden have the best support from the private sector.…”

“…According to it, the dynamics are very diverse where the role of the university for Smart Specialisation in regional innovation systems needs to be reconfigured, especially in less innovatively developed regions. In a recent study Lilles et al (2020) has examined the capabilities of all EU regions with regional divisions and examined how the potential for university collaboration is well supported and implemented in these regions. This research has shown that potential support for each actor involved in university and industrial collaboration in each region is not homogeneous because each region has its own characteristics.…”