Report evaluates European university-business cooperation since 2008

The report focused on 5 initiatives:

• University-Business Forum
• Erasmus+ Knowledge Alliances
• HEInnovate
• Labour Market Relevance and Outcomes Partnership
• Higher Education for Smart Specialisation project

Challenges and recommendations

The report results show that these activities have played a significant role in bridging the gap between higher education institutions and the business sector with varying degrees of effectiveness.

The analysis points out several challenges, including:

• insufficient synergies among university-business cooperation activities
• limited policy engagement
• barriers to the long-term sustainability of partnerships
• the need to go beyond university-business cooperation and broaden the concept to “educational innovation”

The report recommends

• the consolidation of relevant EU-funded activities under the umbrella of "educational innovation"
• introduction of a “soft steering” mechanism through an EU-level steering committee
• enhancing dissemination through a unified digital platform and a comprehensive communication strategy