Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - A new partnership for the modernisation of universities: the EU Forum for University Business Dialogue {SEC(2009) 423 SEC(2009) 424 SEC(2009) 425}
Date: 2009-04-02
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, European Employment Strategy, business policy, education policy, integration into employment, organisation of teaching, university

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 2.4.2009 
COM(2009) 158 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

A new partnership for the modernisation of universities: the EU Forum for 
University Business Dialogue 

{SEC(2009) 423 
SEC(2009) 424 
SEC(2009) 425} 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

A new partnership for the modernisation of universities: the EU Forum for 
University Business Dialogue 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

1. 

A TOPIC OF EVER GREATER IMPORTANCE 

Universities1, with their triple roles as providers of the highest levels of education, advanced 
research and path-breaking innovation, are at the heart of Europe's knowledge triangle. They 
have  the  potential  to  be  crucial  drivers  of  Europe's  ambition  to  be  the  world's  leading 
knowledge-based economy and society. This has been recognised in EU-level policy making 
since the Hampton Court Summit of October 2005; at the same time, the need for change if 
they  are  to  meet  their  potential  is  clear.  Nine  areas  for  action  were  mapped  out  in  the 
Commission  Communication  "Delivering  on  the  Modernisation  Agenda  for  Universities: 
Education, Research and Innovation" of May 20062. Since then the modernisation agenda has 
been the subject of extensive policy exchange, with progress being regularly reviewed by the 
Council  of  Ministers3.  The  Commission  has  further  proposed  to  make  the  modernisation  of 
universities  one  of  the  priority  themes  in  the  new  framework  for  policy  cooperation  on 
education and training within the Lisbon strategy.4 

A  key  element  within  the  agenda  set  out  in  2006  was  that  universities  should  develop 
structured partnerships with the world of enterprise in order to "become significant players in 
the economy, able to respond better and faster to the demands of the market and to develop 
partnerships  which  harness  scientific  and  technological  knowledge".  The  Communication 
suggested that enterprises could help universities to reshape curricula, governance structures 
and contribute to funding. 

On  this  basis,  the  Commission  launched  the  University-Business  Forum  as  a  European 
platform for dialogue between the two worlds. The first Forum meeting in February 2008 was 
followed  during  2008  by  three  thematic  workshops5.  A  second  plenary  Forum  in  February 
2009  gathered  together  around  400  participants  and,  in  addition  to  workshops  on  different 
themes, involved stocktaking of lessons learned and a discussion of possible future directions 
for the Forum’s work. 

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4 

5 

In this document the term “universities” is taken to mean all higher education institutions, irrespective 
of their name and status in the Member States 
COM(2006) 208 final 
For a synthesis of issues and actions undertaken see COM(2008) 680 of 30 October 2008 Report from 
the  Commission  to  the  Council  on  the  Council  Resolution  of  23  November  2007  on  Modernising 
Universities for Europe's competitiveness in a global knowledge economy. 
COM(2008)  865  of  16  December2008:  An  updated  strategic  framework  for  European  cooperation  in 
education and training 
Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning (Brussels, 30 June 2008); Curriculum Development and 
Entrepreneurship (Tenerife, 30-31 October 2008); Knowledge Transfer (Brussels, 7 November 2008)  

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The  very  high  attendance  at  the  February  2009  event  shows  the  importance  which 
stakeholders attach to the Forum. Participants referred frequently to the context of economic 
downturn  in  which  the  event  took  place  and  argued  that  there  was  renewed  urgency  to 
building  better  business-university  links  as  a  means  to  strengthen  Europe's  knowledge 
triangle. This Communication seeks to respond to this sense of urgency. 

2. 

TAKING STOCK AND MOVING FORWARD: PURPOSE OF THE COMMUNICATION 

University-business  cooperation  involves  two  communities  with  marked  differences  in 
culture, values and missions. Examples of successful cooperation between the two sides exist 
throughout  Europe  and  EU  programmes  have  sought  to  build  partnerships  between  the  two 
domains,  normally  focusing  on  partnerships  in  specific  areas  such  as  research  or  student 
mobility6. But the level of cooperation remains very unequal across countries, universities and 
academic  disciplines.  Furthermore,  the  extent  to  which  such  cooperation  has  influenced 
governance or organisational cultures in the two sectors concerned is limited. Few universities 
have  an  institution-wide  strategy  for  cooperation  with  enterprise;  those  that  do  are 
concentrated in a small number of Member States. In many countries the legal and financial 
framework still fails to reward or may even inhibit the efforts of universities to cooperate with 
business. 

The purpose of the present Communication is: 

•  To take stock of what has been learned from the first year of the Forum and other 
relevant  activities  at  European  level  about  the  challenges  and  barriers  to 
university-business cooperation, the issues to be addressed and good practices and 
approaches  which  could  be  more  widely  used.  A  Commission  Staff  Working 
Document (SWD) develops this aspect of the work at greater length. 

•  To make proposals for the next steps in the Forum's work. 

•  To  outline  concrete  follow-up  actions 

to  strengthen  university-business 

cooperation. 

3. 

ISSUES AND CHALLENGES 

The  Forum's  reflections  to  date  can  be  summarised  under  6  main  themes.  Every  section 
includes a box highlighting an example of good practice. 

3.1. 

New curricula for employability 

The competitiveness of economies is increasingly dependent on the availability of a qualified 
and entrepreneurial workforce. The New Skills for New Jobs initiative7 has confirmed that the 
EU's  need  for  highly-qualified  and  entrepreneurial  graduates  will  continue  to  grow  in  the 
years ahead. At the same time, enterprises within the Forum report a mismatch between the 

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7 

For  a  description  of  EU  programmes  which  foster  higher  education  –  business  partnerships,  see  the 
Staff Working Document, Section 3. 
COM(2008)868 

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competences of graduates as they emerge from universities and the qualifications which they 
seek as employers. 

The  employability  challenge  has  been,  without  doubt,  the  key  issue  before  the  Forum,  to 
which the reflection returned again and again. 

There was consensus on the need for comprehensive change to curricula and learning methods 
and for: 

•  the inclusion of transversal and transferable skills and of fundamental notions of 
economics and of technology in curricula at all levels of qualification. Curricula 
should be "T-shaped": rooted in the specific academic discipline while at the same 
time interacting and cooperating with partners in other disciplines and sectors; 

•  Better examination methods, more geared towards the assessment of learning and 

competences; 

•  Greater diversification of admission profiles  and approaches to learning in order 
to tap talent from non-traditional backgrounds, including adults returning to study; 

•  Greater  interdisciplinarity  and  transdisciplinarity  of  education  and  research 
agendas. Forum participants made frequent references in this regard to the way in 
which the EIT will in future embody these approaches in its operation – this was 
seen as showing the way for such approaches more broadly in higher education. 

Curricular  change  of  the  magnitude  and  at  the  pace  sought  is  only  possible  if  the  internal 
structure  of  universities  provide  an  enabling  and  rewarding  framework.  Internal  quality 
assurance (QA) and external accreditation systems should pay more attention to the social and 
economic  relevance  of  learning  programmes.  Accreditation  agencies  should  include 
representatives from learners as well as of business and society at large 

A number of accreditation agencies include business representatives in their decision making 
body,  e.g.  ACQUIN  in  Germany,  HETAC  in  Ireland  or  CTI  in  France.  The  latter  is 
responsible for engineering curricula and counts an equal number of members from academia 
and  from  industry;  transversal  skills  and  interaction  of  students  with  industry  are  core 
requirements for accreditation. (SWD, Section 5.2.4) 

3.2. 

Fostering entrepreneurship 

The  comparatively  low  levels  of  entrepreneurship  in  the  EU8  call  into  question  Europe’s 
ability  to  foster  growth  and  jobs.  The  challenge  for  higher  education  is  to  provide  learning 
environments  that  stimulate  independence,  creativity  and  an  entrepreneurial  approach  to 
harnessing  knowledge.  A  regular  flow  of  students  and  faculty  members  from  university  to 
business and a constant presence of business people on campus would help create the required 
change in culture. A good example in this respect can be found in the postgraduate training 
programmes  funded  by  the  Marie  Curie  Initial  Training  Networks  that  focus  on 
entrepreneurial skills. 

8 

Cf.  Staff  Working  Document,  Section  2.3:  the  Global  Entrepreneurship  Monitor  2007  shows 
entrepreneurship rates 2 to 5 times higher in China than in EU countries. 

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There  should  be  an  expansion  of  existing  forms  of  cooperation  with  business  such  as 
conferences, internships and project work (individual or in multidisciplinary groups). Extra-
curricular  opportunities  were  seen  as  valuable,  e.g.  junior  consultancy  companies  or 
incubators  providing  customized  support  to  university  students  and  staff  who  articulate 
concrete  ideas  for  new  business  ventures  (start-up,  spin-off  companies).  All  these  activities 
should  reach  students  from  an  early  stage  in  their  studies  and  should  be  more  strongly 
integrated into curricula. 

It  was  seen  as  particularly  important  that  the  training  of  future  school  teachers  and  trainers 
should  build  positive  attitudes  and  openness  towards  business  as  a  source  of  progress,  jobs 
and welfare. 

The main conclusions are that 

•  The  development  of  an  entrepreneurial  culture  at  universities  requires  profound 

changes in university governance and leadership; 

•  Entrepreneurship  education  has  to  be  comprehensive  and  open  to  all  interested 
students, in all academic disciplines, with due regard to the gender perspective; 

•  Universities should involve entrepreneurs and business people into the teaching of 
entrepreneurship,  for  example  via  the  establishment  of  visiting  professorships  to 
outstanding entrepreneurs; 

•  Equally,  professors  and  teachers  should  have  access  to  training  in  teaching 

entrepreneurship and exposure to the business world. 

International  Danish  Entrepreneurship  Academy 

(IDEA)  network  encourages 
The 
entrepreneurship  in  students  from  both  higher  education  and  further  education  institutions 
through financial support, mentoring, courses and networking opportunities. IDEA is financed 
by  grants  from  the  state,  counties  and  municipalities  and  private  sources.  (SWD,  Section 
5.5.3) 

3.3. 

Knowledge transfer: putting knowledge to work  

Europe  is  productive  when  it  comes  to  the  generation  of  knowledge.  The  challenge  is, 
however to improve the use and exploitation of publicly funded R&D. Although there are a 
number  of  programmes  strengthening  pathways  by  which  the  knowledge  generation 
capacities of public higher education and research can work together with enterprises to bring 
innovations  to  market,  the  level  of  lasting  strategic  cooperation  between  the  two  sectors 
remains too low. 

Universities  need  to  develop  policies  for  the  professional  management  of  intellectual 
property.  Doing  so  will  help  them  meet  several  aspects  of  their  mission,  for  example  to 
generate socio-economic benefits for society and to attract the best students and researchers. 
To  support  universities  and  to  provide  a  more  coherent  framework  for  knowledge  transfer 
activities the Commission has adopted a Recommendation on the management of intellectual 
property  in  knowledge  transfer  activities  and  a  Code  of  Practice  for  universities  and  other 

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public  research  organisations9.  Also,  the  "Responsible  Partnering"  initiative  provides  a 
guide10  to  better  practices  for  collaborative  research  and  knowledge  transfer  between 
universities and industry. 

In summary 

•  Knowledge  transfer  between  universities  and  enterprises  will  work  best  where 
there is a general framework of cooperation and mutual understanding, involving 
partnerships, joint projects and the exchange of people; 

•  Universities  should  ensure  interdiscipinarity;  monodisciplinary  solutions  are 

rarely the answer to real world problems; 

•  Universities  and  public  research  organisations  should  have  a  clear  long  term 

strategy for the management of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR); 

•  The particular challenges faced by SMEs if they are to enter into partnerships with 
universities  need  to  be  addressed.  Universities  need  to  reach  out  to  SMEs.  For 
universities,  having  access  to,  or  own  a  knowledge  transfer  office  will  facilitate 
cooperation with SMEs, as they are a portal and interface between universities and 
the private sector. 

The University of Twente (NL) runs a knowledge park and business accelerators which bring 
together  the  knowledge  generated  in  the  university  with  the  regional  business  community. 
Those  who  wish  to  start  a  company  receive  customised  supported  via  the  university’s  TOP 
programme  (Temporary  Entrepreneurial  Positions).  The  University  offers  also  a  growth 
programme targeted at owners of companies. Both include training modules and networking 
activities. (SWD, Section 5.6.1) 

3.4.  Mobility: across borders and between business and academia 

In spite of a number of success stories with student placements, industry-academia mobility 
programmes under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) and collaborative project work 
between  universities  and  industry,  the  overall  level  of  contact,  interaction  and  mobility 
between the two sectors remains far too low. Internships, research mobility programmes and 
collaborative  project,  which  allow  students  to  work  with  or  within  a  company,  alone  or  in 
interdisciplinary  groups,  should  become  an  integral  part  of  learning  programmes  in  all 
disciplines and should carry European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits. 

Mobility  should  also  involve  academic  and  university  management  staff,  thereby  allowing 
universities to build up the networks from which future internships, employment and projects 
for students can be developed. The direct exposure of staff to the reality of business will help 
to  understand  and  anticipate  the  changing  training  and  innovation  needs  of  industry.  There 
are, however, still significant legal and administrative obstacles to the mobility of university 
staff to business companies, e.g. relating to social security and pension regimes.11 

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COM (2008) 1329 
http://www.responsible-partnering.org/; developed by leading associations from academia and industry 
(EUA, EARTO, EIRMA and ProTon Europe) 
COM(2008) 317 Better careers and more mobility: A European Partnership for Researchers 

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In  the  opposite  direction,  the  stronger  involvement  of  enterprises  in  university  boards, 
research agendas, admission panels, curriculum design, course delivery and QA systems can 
significantly  improve  universities’  teaching,  research  and  innovation.  Again,  it  remains 
limited in many countries, either for legal or cultural reasons. 

In order to make progress it is important that: 

•  The  value  of  mobility  needs  to  be  promoted  and  recognised  by  university  and 
business in all its different modalities and at all levels; in particular SMEs should 
participate more in internships; 

•  Legal frameworks  have to  be adapted to support and facilitate mobility between 

university and business; 

•  Mobility of academics, researchers or students to business needs to be recognised 

and accredited. 

In Valencia, ADEIT12 is an organisation with the specific objective of linking the university to 
its  social  environment.  It  focuses  on  university  student  placements  in  organizations  or 
enterprises.  ADEIT  places  1500  students  per  year  with  companies  and  they  train  tutors  on 
both sides of the placement. They also manage Professor Internships where professors work 
in companies for up to 100 hours. (SWD, Section 5.4.4) 

3.5. 

Opening up universities for Lifelong Learning 

Improving employability involves not only those who enter the labour market: the upgrading 
of competences for those already in the workforce is an equally important challenge13, even 
increased  as  job  losses  mount  in  the  current  downturn.  The  review  of  progress  in  the 
Education  &  Training  2010  work  programme  shows  that  the  participation  rate  of  adults  in 
lifelong learning14 is rising too slowly and only in certain Member States. 

At  a  time  when  student  numbers  may  well  start  to  turn  down  for  demographic  reasons, 
continuing  education  would  seem  to  represent  a  hugely  important  potential  opportunity  for 
universities. Nevertheless, universities open themselves only to a very low share of the market 
for continuing education. A comprehensive reorientation towards delivering lifelong learning 
is required. 

The  European  Universities'  Charter  on  Lifelong  Learning15,  adopted  by  the  European 
Association of Universities (EUA) was presented and discussed at the Forum. The document 
sets out 10 commitments for Universities covering wider access to learning, diversifying the 
student  population  and  increasing  the  attractiveness  of  study,  lifelong  learning  in  a  quality 
culture and stronger local, regional, national and international level. 

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http://www.adeit.uv.es 
COM(2008)868 final; New Skills for New Jobs. 
Progress towards the Lisbon objectives in Education and Training – indicators and benchmarks 2008, 
European Commission Staff Working Document, SEC(2008)2293. 
European Universities' Charter on Lifelong Learning, 2008; ISBN: 9789078997009, EUA; www.eua.be  

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Continuing education needs close contact between university and business which allows them 
to identify and then address demand for new/updated skills at the local and regional level. It is 
of prime importance that: 

•  Lifelong Learning (LLL) is to be fully integrated into the missions and strategies 

of universities; 

•  The  updating/upgrading  of  skills  has  to  be  valued  and  recognised  on  the  labour 

market and by employers; 

•  LLL  has  to  be  developed  in  partnership  with  enterprises  –  universities  cannot 

design and deliver alone. 

In Western Sweden, 3 universities have developed tailor-made distance-learning courses for 
SME employees as a means to boost the competitiveness of these enterprises and of the region 
as  whole.  The  courses  address  crucial  questions  for  SMEs  such  as  better  production 
techniques, Economics, Logistics, Product Development and Total Production Management. 
Most  of  the  employees  who  take  these  courses  are  in  their  forties  and  have  not  studied  at 
university level before. (SWD, Section 5.3.2) 

3.6. 

Better university governance 

The  Forum  focused  on  governance  at  national,  regional  and  institutional  level  as  a 
precondition for effective collaboration between university and business. 

At  national  level,  changes  are  sought  in  legislation,  funding  arrangements  and  incentive 
structures  which  were  seen  as  either  not  supportive  of  or  sometimes  hostile  to  university-
business cooperation. Such cooperation should be part of the overall strategy of universities 
and included in development planning and objective setting. Collaborative work with industry 
should  be  acknowledged  as  equally  important  as  academic  tasks  like  publishing  for  career 
advancement and compensation. 

Intermediary organisations or business associations are important actors as they can represent 
a  good  interface  between  universities  and  companies,  in  particular  for  SMEs.  In  addition, 
there  are  a  number  of  European,  national  or  regional  bodies  or  agencies  also  supporting 
cooperation  between  universities  and  business.  They  can  be  effective  structures  to  make 
progress in this field. 

In the UK, the Council for Higher Education and Industry (CIHE) looks into learning issues 
that affect the country’s competitiveness and social cohesion, and tries to foster close working 
and understanding between business and higher education. In Germany, the Stifterverband für 
die  Deutsche  Wissenschaft  acts  as  the  industry’s  joint  initiative  for  supporting  research  and 
higher education. It forges bonds between universities and non-academic research institutions, 
links  science  and  industry  and  encourages  the  creation  of  a  single  European  education  and 
research area. In Spain, the Foundation Conocimiento y Desarrollo (CYD) aims to improving 
the  governance,  accountability  and  universities  management;  enhancing  ties  between 
universities  productive  system  and  society;  promoting  the  entrepreneurial  and  innovative 
culture among the university professors and students. (SWD, Section 5.1.1) 

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Effective university-business cooperation is seen as being particularly important for regional 
development16.  The  success  of  many  innovative  regions  in  the  US  and  in  Europe  has  been 
based on a triangular partnership involving universities, business and government, for policy 
orientation and funding. 

In Finland, the e-Tampere programme links the Tampere city’s vision for 2012 with several 
SMEs  and  larger  companies  and  2  universities.  It  has  launched  almost  400  local,  regional, 
national  and  international  projects  drawing  on  extensive  cooperation  between  university 
research, business and government from the perspective of technology, economy and society. 
(SWD, Section 6.1) 

The principal conclusions are: 

•  National  and  regional  framework  conditions  have  to  provide  a  supportive 

environment for Universities to engage in cooperation with business; 

•  University-Business  cooperation  has  to  be  embedded  in  institutional  strategies; 
leadership  and  effective  management  of  human  resources  are  crucial  for  the 
implementation; 

•  Governance has to ensure that relevant incentive and assessment systems that are 
in line with the mission, the role and the strategy of universities are put in place. 

4. 

FUTURE STEPS 

In  one  year  the  work  of  the  Forum  has  already  yielded  important  results.  The  Commission 
welcomes the wealth of ideas and the quality of the reflection generated. It will draw on this 
work  as  it  further  promotes  the  modernisation  of  Europe's  universities,  both  through  policy 
cooperation and through actions under its programmes. 

The  Commission  proposes  two  forms  of  follow-up  action.  Firstly,  responding  to  the  wish 
strongly  expressed  by  the  Forum  participants  to  continue  and  deepen  the  work,  a  future 
programme of work is mapped out. Secondly, the Forum has identified a number of issues and 
potential lines of action which deserve attention as soon as possible, notably in the context of 
the economic downturn, aimed at improving university-business partnership on employability. 
A series of concrete actions is proposed. 

Continuing the dialogue 

•  The  Forum  will  continue  with  the  structure  of  plenary  meetings  and  thematic 
seminars. In addition, a web space for the sharing and disseminating of experience 
and for communication will be developed. 

•  The  Forum  has  been  effective  so  far  in  mobilising  representatives  of  the  two 
worlds,  universities  and  enterprises,  including  intermediary  organisations  and 
business  associations.  The  partnership  needs  also  the  active  involvement  of 
national  governments  and  regional  authorities.  In  the  next  phase  there  should 
therefore be a stronger involvement of relevant public representatives. 

16 

Higher Education and Regions: Globally Competitive, Locally Engaged; OECD 2007 

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•  Drawing  on  the  dialogue  to  date  and  on  work  ongoing  in  other  areas,  the 

following issues should be discussed: 

–  Ensuring that the university world responds effectively to the 'New Skills for New 

Jobs' agenda and to the challenges posed by the economic downturn; 

–  partnerships for regional development; 

–  partnerships with SMEs; 

–  diversification  of  approaches  to  learning  and  building  bridges  between  various 

types of higher education; 

–  QA and accreditation as tools to support university-business cooperation; 

•  There have been frequent expressions of interest in the work from outside the EU. 
The  Forum  should  be  more  explicitly  open  to  actors  from  beyond  the  EU  (in 
practice,  many  international  enterprises  have  already  participated)  and  should 
include  a  strong  future  focus  on  lessons  which  can  be  learned  from  partner 
countries. The Commission will, in its contacts with relevant public authorities in 
partner countries, publicise the work of the Forum and invite their participation. 

Developing new Partnerships 

•  The  Forum  has  argued  for  the  creation  of  new  forms  of  structured  partnership  between 
business  and  universities  to  develop  and  deliver  educational  courses.  Such  partnerships 
would  echo  the  structures  developed  within  the  Technology  Platforms,  the  Marie  Curie 
Industry-Academia Partnerships and Pathways (IAPP) under FP7 and the Knowledge and 
Innovation  Communities  (KICs)  within  the  EIT.  The  Commission  proposes  to  explore 
immediately how such partnerships could be supported via relevant EU programmes, with 
a view to launching calls for proposals for exploratory actions under the Lifelong Learning 
programme (LLP) in 2010. 

•  The issue of extending the scope of the platform for dialogue to other fields of education 
and training – notably secondary schools and VET institutions – has been raised frequently 
by the enterprise side within the Forum. The potential for business to contribute to teaching 
of  entrepreneurship,  for  example,  is  clearly  high17.  The  Commission  will  explore  how 
existing  programmes  –  for  example  the  Leonardo da Vinci and Comenius programmes – 
and initiatives as European Schoolnet can be used to bring enterprises and schools together 
in  education  partnerships,  and  how  cooperation  might  be  promoted  via  a  European 
coordination  body.  The  Commission  intends  to  invite  stakeholders  to  explore  future 
possibilities  for  cooperation  between  enterprises  and  schools  and  VET  institutions  at  a 
conference or seminar in the autumn. 

•  The development of the university-business dialogue at EU level should stimulate a similar 
dialogue at national and regional levels. The Commission will, in the context of its policy 
cooperation with Member States on education and training, encourage national authorities 

17 

The  Commission  is  currently  setting  up  a  European  high  level  reflection  panel  on  Entrepreneurship 
education  involving  representatives  from  all  Member  States  and  the  EEA  countries  to  support  the 
development of more coherent approaches  

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to establish similar national-level dialogue structures. It will explore how Structural Funds 
could be used to support regional initiatives in this regard. 

•  The Commission will launch a study to establish an inventory on existing best practices in 

the field of cooperation between universities and enterprises. 

The right time for a strong new push for university-business cooperation is now. In times of 
economic  downturn,  when  graduates  face  greater  difficulty  to  find  jobs  and  enterprises  are 
subjected to higher competitive pressure, the economic and social value-added of university-
business collaboration should make it even more a priority. 

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