What is happening at policy level? Towards a new higher education transformation
Higher education institutions in Europe are at the heart of both the European Education Area and the European Research Area, and are particularly well placed to connect them together. We were discussing some of the current challenges and future prospects of interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaboration in European higher education with Joerg Niehoff, who is the Policy Coordinator for University Business Cooperation in the Directorate General for Education, Youth, Culture and Sport. He is responsible for the development and implementation of policies and specific initiatives to support innovation and entrepreneurial culture in and by higher education institutions, and their cooperation with business in a broad sense.
Hi Joerg. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. Let’s start with a slightly provocative question. In your opinion, why is university-business cooperation so hard to achieve and sustain?
Joerg Niehoff: Well, when I listen to you explaining your projects [PEOPLE and Active8-Planet], together with what you have achieved so far, you don’t make it sound so hard. What I do believe is a major issue is that university business cooperation is not part of the DNA, not always part of our institutional set-up, and complex due to the different languages, speed and expectations on the side of academia and industry. It relies on individuals establishing this connection, it can often only happen with external funding, which in itself can never offer a sustainable solution. We have seen that these collaborations can achieve tremendous results at local level that really make a difference for the citizens. We all have to do more to give better visibility to the positive impacts university business cooperation can achieve, and that this has to become integral part of our approach.
In your opinion, which are currently the main barriers and gaps when it comes to university-business cooperation in Europe?
Joerg Niehoff: A main barrier that has been identified again and again is the lack of recognition and incentives to engage in university business cooperation. It depends often on the individuals, but should rather become a priority for the leadership and part of the institutional strategy. In our recent survey among Knowledge Alliances, we asked the same question: what are the main barriers that you face, and we got interesting responses. The lack of funding and economic incentives came out quite clearly, including the possibility to create a larger impact of projects that have been successful, something where respondents are also looking for a better support from national policies. They also underlined that collaboration between companies, universities and research centres generally takes the form of transfers of knowledge, creation of new useful products, new jobs, and business models. However, this is hindered by various factors, including cultural differences between the business and science communities, lack of incentives, legal barriers, and fragmented markets for knowledge and technology.
Of course, one of the main barriers of the last months was the Covid-19 pandemic that prevented the strengthening of relations between the various partners and a greater involvement of the corporate partners.
How do Knowledge Alliance projects contribute towards bridging these gaps? What are the key impacts that the European Commission wants to achieve with these projects?
Joerg Niehoff: The Knowledge Alliances funded under Erasmus+ (2014-2020) are designed to develop new, innovative, and multidisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning, stimulating entrepreneurial skills and competences of higher education and company staff. And key to their success is that the collaboration between higher education institutions and businesses is at the core of each of the 158 projects that have been funded. Bringing together those two perspectives, from the moment that a proposal is developed, allows co-ownership and ensures that the needs of the users can be reflected from the beginning. We have learned from a recent survey that these projects are very successful in creating knowledge and results that can be used beyond the consortium partners, and thus create broader impacts that allows upscaling, possibly also by using other forms of funding such as from the Cohesion policy. The importance to have this kind of projects has also been fully recognised under the new Erasmus+ programme (2021-27), where we continue with annual calls for what is now called “Alliances for Innovation”, with the 2021 call closing on 7 September.
Our Active8-Planet project aims to demonstrate the added value of interdisciplinarity when it comes to tackling key challenges of our planet. Could interdisciplinarity present a driver for university-business cooperation or is it just an additional burden?
Joerg Niehoff: I believe interdisciplinarity is not a burden, but a necessity, and certainly in the collaboration between higher education institutions and their environment, be it enterprises, or other forms of partners. Today’s problems need to be addressed with a broad mix of skills and backgrounds, and have to reflect better the perspectives of our citizens and society. And part of that is also the need for more diversity. Without a gender, cultural and social diversity among those defining the problems that we address, and those working on the solutions we hope to solve with research and innovation, we miss important perspectives, limit the co-ownership of results and allow that valuable human resources remain untapped. This was also confirmed at the consultation meeting with the Knowledge Alliances on 3 June, where supporting interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary education and research was discussed as one of the urgent challenges to address.
What will be the key future perspectives and policy developments in the area of European university-business cooperation?
Joerg Niehoff: The main drivers for our activities are of course the COVID-19 recovery, and the green and digital transformation of our society. Higher Education Institutions in their interaction with their environment will be key in adjusting their educational offerings to the quickly changing labour market needs, and educate the young people that we need to build back better. At the same time, they, as institutions, should become drivers of transformation in their ecosystems and become an actor of change towards greener societies. And this needs to happen in a geographically sensitive way, to ensure that less developed and peripheral regions have the capability to create and retain talent, create a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship as well as to absorb new ideas and technologies. The policy context will be defined by a European Strategy for Universities. The Commission has started to co-create this strategy, together with Member States and stakeholders, to accelerate the transformation of Higher Education. We expect the interaction between higher education institutions and businesses to play a crucial role within this strategy.
To conclude, what would be your final advice for our Active8-planet project?
Joerg Niehoff: For me your project is very inspirational in the way how you build interdisciplinary teams, where social sciences students become aware of the practical value of their contributions, and how they acquire valuable skills and confidence. And the fact that in the previous project PEOPLE three students could find employment in efficiency/energy sector speaks for itself. Putting enough effort on communication, spreading the word, and encourage others to follow a similar path to inspire institutional change would be important from my perspective. And of course, we are more than happy to help from our side to communicate the success of your projects.
