Proceedings of the 3rd European Conference on Intellectual Capital

Simona Agoston et al.
Table 1: Knowledge transfer activities and indicators
Knowledge Transfer Activity Indicators
Joint- research projects financed by business environment
Students internship in companies
Visiting lecturers from business environment
Knowledge transfer with business
environment
Knowledge transfer with public
bodies (universities, international
associations, high schools etc.)
Knowledge transfer with students
Knowledge transfer with third parties
(alumni, society, non-governmental
organizations etc.)
Grants from business environment towards university
Projects financed by business environment conducted within <strong>the</strong>
university
Post-graduate courses for employees
Scholarships granted by business environment to students with
outstanding results
Agreements concluded with foreign universities
Membership in international academic networks
Joint projects with Romanian high schools
Research projects financed by Romanian public institutions
Research projects financed by International public institutions
Scientific output
International exchange programs for students
Facilities in <strong>the</strong> students campus
Joint projects with students organizations
Scholarships granted by university
Project contests for students within <strong>the</strong> university
Summer schools organized by <strong>the</strong> university
Pr<strong>of</strong>essional and social networks for alumni
Social and cultural projects
Ecological initiatives
Joint projects with non-governmental organizations
TOTAL: 4 23
In <strong>the</strong> specialized literature knowledge transfer between universities and business environment has
been researched mainly from <strong>the</strong> perspective <strong>of</strong> joint research projects. We want to broaden this area
<strong>of</strong> transfer by introducing in our analysis several o<strong>the</strong>r activities such as: training <strong>of</strong>fered by university
experts to employees by means <strong>of</strong> post-graduate courses (<strong>the</strong>se might be tailored in order to meet
<strong>the</strong> specific training needs <strong>of</strong> a company), various educational activities (guest speakers from
companies, scholarship programs for students with outstanding results and jointly supervised master
<strong>the</strong>sis and PhDs, internship programs), joint use <strong>of</strong> technical infrastructure, consulting services etc.
An important role within <strong>the</strong> knowledge transfer process is assigned to collaboration with o<strong>the</strong>r public
bodies, like foreign universities, international associations, high schools. This collaboration might
occur in form <strong>of</strong> agreements and joined projects with o<strong>the</strong>r universities, joint research and publishing
activity with o<strong>the</strong>r research institutes (e.g. in Romania Ministry <strong>of</strong> Education and Research, Romanian
Academy, CNCSIS), projects carried out with high schools teachers and pupils etc.
Despite <strong>the</strong> fact that students are <strong>the</strong> main beneficiaries <strong>of</strong> educational services, one can note <strong>the</strong>
lack <strong>of</strong> research regarding <strong>the</strong> knowledge transfer activities between universities and students.
Anyway, <strong>the</strong> reduced amount <strong>of</strong> papers which approach this topic evidence a lack <strong>of</strong> costumer focus
in universities regarding <strong>the</strong> transfer <strong>of</strong> knowledge (Johannesson, 2006). We have identified several
indicators used to ascertain <strong>the</strong> intensity <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> transfer: joint projects with students’ organizations,
summer schools, conferences and o<strong>the</strong>r kinds <strong>of</strong> projects organized for students in <strong>the</strong> institutional
framework <strong>of</strong> a university, access to scientific databases and libraries etc. Whereas <strong>the</strong> transfer <strong>of</strong>
knowledge towards and from students stands for <strong>the</strong> core function <strong>of</strong> a university, <strong>the</strong> delivery <strong>of</strong>
knowledge to society aims mainly at cultural exchange (Hubig and Jonen, 2006) and is embedded in
various collaborations on cultural, ecological and social topics, as depicted in <strong>the</strong> next paragraph.
The role that universities play goes beyond <strong>the</strong> mere impact <strong>the</strong>y have on <strong>the</strong> economic environment.
Universities significantly affect <strong>the</strong> local community (Wright et al., 2008) and <strong>the</strong> society through social
and cultural projects (arts exhibition, movies gala, charity activities, concerts and presentations),
ecological initiatives (recycling projects, promoting alternatives means <strong>of</strong> transportation, organizing
ecological programs and trainings etc.), joint projects with non-governmental organizations and
alumni associations.
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