TRIPLE HELIX noms.pmd

O-072The changing role of universities in the German research system:engagement in net-works, clusters and beyondKnut Koschatzky, Thomas Stahlecker, Fraunhofer Institute For Systems and Innovation Research, Karlsruhe, GermanyIntroduction and objectiveIn Germany, but in other countries as well, a trend towards a regionalization in technology and innovation policy is clearlyevident. This triggers the expectation towards universities to estab-lish regional ties and networks and to exploit the advantagesof spatial proximity to other re-search institutes, to industry and to policy and regional administration. The hypothesis is putforward that the evolution in the collaboration patterns of universities contributes to an increas-ing flexibility in the researchsystem. It is the objective of this paper to analyze the changing role of universities as driving force in the development of newmodes and models of collaboration both with industry and with other research organisations. Starting from the triple-helix andthe entrepreneurial university approach (Etzkowitz et al., 2008) and the different ingredients sup-plied by network and clustertheory, future prospects in the appearance of new forms of bound-ary spanning roles of universities (Youtie and Shapira, 2008)in distributed research and innova-tion processes will be discussed, using Germany as a case study.Focus of the paperThe German research system is well developed and consists of a manifold of different organiza-tions for both basic and appliedresearch and industrial development. Technology transfer at universities started as early as the 1970s with the operation of thefirst transfer offices, still fol-lowing the linear innovation paradigm (Krücken and Meier, 2005). With advances in innovationeconomics research during the 1970s and 1980s, the understanding about the complexity and interactivity of innovation processeschanged drastically. Especially with the increasing popular-ity of the system of innovation approach, regional innovation networkingwithin and between the industrial and the research sector gained more and more importance during the 1990s. The 'networkparadigm', as Cooke and Morgan (1993) put it, became the starting point for policy measures by which the effectiveness and theefficiency of distributed innovation activities should be promoted.In 1995, the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research initiated the BioRegio contest which aimed at the strengtheningof biotechnological research and increased international com-petitiveness in this field by supporting firms, universities and otherresearch institutes collaborat-ing in close spatial proximity (Dohse, 2000). Together with an amendment of the German highereducation framework law by which knowledge and technology transfer was introduced as third main objective of universities(besides research and teaching), other national programmes started in 1997 which explicitly promoted the role of universities inregional networks (e.g. the EXIST firm formation from universities programme). During the first decade of the new millen-nium,the freedom of universities was further strengthened by:" the introduction of self-governance instruments and thus the increasing independence of universities from formerly strongpublic governance (Liefner, 2001)" the abolition of the professor's principle in patenting of university inventions and the creation of university patenting andlicensing offices" the Bologna process which put strong pressure on the universities to reform their curricula" the excellence initiative of the national government for the selection of 'elite universities'" the formulation of the high-tech strategy as the comprehensive German technology and in-novation policy platform, addressingthe universities as strategic research partner for enter-prises.Besides these aspects, the regional level as platform for policy implementation was further strengthened by the diffusion of thecluster concept. These developments contributed to an increasing pressure on universities to diversity their tasks andengagements. It is expected to-day that universities are excellent in research and provide all necessary resources for goodteaching, both on a national and international competitive level, that they have a high patent output and sufficient licensingreturns, that they provide incubation facilities for spin-off activi-ties, and that they act as knowledge hub in their respectiveregional innovation system.Methodology and findingsDrawing on recent examples from Germany in the form of case studies, the paper will analyze how German universities dealwith these challenges and which forms of regional integration and collaboration patterns can be observed. It can be stated thatthe formerly clear-cut boundaries between the different research organizations become more flexible, e.g. in the way that firstmergers between classical universities and classical national research centers occurred (the new Karlsruhe Institute of Technologyas merger between the Technical University Karlsruhe and the National Research Center Karlsruhe), and that new actorconstellations like new mod-els of science-industry research collaboration with a strong participation of universities emerged(Koschatzky and Stahlecker, 2010). It will be argued that the new role and self-conception of the universities open up newchances for a further development of collaboration models in the German research system. This can be in the way of anincreased outsourcing of strategic ori-ented research activities into industry on campus models, both from large firms and fromSMEs, but also in the way of strategic education and research alliances between universities and ap-plied research organizationslike the Fraunhofer Society.Madrid, October 20, 21 & 22 - 2010182