On 14 November EPRC hosted a presentation by Dr Paul Benneworth, Principal Researcher at the Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS), at the University of Twente, the Netherlands.
Paul presented the findings of early stage research into the interface between universities and regional innovation systems, with a particular focus upon the strategic management and policy challenges which persist in optimising this relationship. Specifically, it can be seen that there is currently a conceptual impasse in terms of how university contributions to/within regional innovation systems are theorised, and that there are some limitations in policymakers' mediation of firm-university relationships.
Pau's research asserts that a 'layered' approach to the subject, which recognises multiple dimensions at play in university-regional networks (institutional, cultural, symbolic, etc) would enable a'smart strategy', and that this in turn would help to overcome the limitations of orthodox policy.