About the study

The aim

To get a more profound, comprehensive and up to date understanding of the state of UBC in Europe, from the perspective of both the HEIs and the business sector – what is the state of play of UBC in the different countries, what are the main drivers and barriers for the different stakeholders and at what levels; understanding the regulatory framework and socio-economic conditions and what kind of measures/initiatives exist on a regional / national level to support the development of UBC.

The specific objectives for the study will be:

• Chart the current state of play and provide an in-depth analysis of UBC in the countries covered by this study, from the HE and business perspectives
• Revise and update existing contact database of HEIs and establish new contact database for business contacts;
• Deliver 50 case studies of UBC (representative sample, balanced distribution among countries and organisations, balanced distribution of HEI and business led cases);
• Propose possible scenarios for the implementations of UBC monitoring in Europe;
• Provide policy conclusions and recommendations for the furthering of UBC and the best approaches to take, be it at regional, national or European level.

Project expected results

• Gain an up to date, comprehensive and deeper understanding of UBC from the HEI and business perspectives A description and analysis of the current state of development of UBC in the concerned countries in terms of the reasons, motivation, opportunities, and challenges,
• Understand how UBC can contribute and strengthen the relations between university and business to improve European competitiveness and better align the interests of business and HEIs with the needs of society,
• Create a leading benchmark for UBC in Europe,
• Make a shift in European thinking on UBC, fostering UBC acceptance and understanding,
• Unlock the potential of UBC as a primary focus for developing a European knowledge society driving forward a smarter and more productive European innovation and employment market.
• Propose a concept for future monitoring of the development of UBC in Europe, including the identification of relevant indicators,

Provide the European Commission with very valuable information for the design of evidence-based UBC policies.

Vision

It is believed that through this project, the consortium can:

• create a leading benchmark for UBC in Europe,
• foster the acceptance and understanding of UBC in Europe,
• drive forward a smarter and more productive European innovation and employment market.

In short, the consortium believes there is a potential to make a shift in European thinking on this topic and provide the European Commission with very valuable information for the design of evidence-based UBC policies.

The vision of the proposed project is to unlock the potential of UBC as a primary focus for developing a European knowledge society. This will be achieved in the project by seeking qualitative and quantitative evidence to develop a deeper understanding of how UBC can contribute and strengthen the relations between university and business to improve European competitiveness and better align the interests of business and HEIs with the needs of society.