Universities and businesses: increasingly working together? Knowledge transfer is accelerating.

Elena Cano is a professor in the Department of Didactics and Educational Organization at the University of Barcelona (UB), and Eloi Puertas i Prats is a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at the same institution. Together they have developed Uptitude, an online learning platform that allows students to self-regulate the knowledge they acquire: they can set goals, manage lessons, and develop skills such as time management and problem-solving. The objective is clear: to improve academic performance. This is one of the success stories documented by the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation, the UB's knowledge and technology transfer office. It is one of the oldest in the country. It opened in 1983 and, since then, has worked to facilitate collaboration between the university and business worlds to increase the university's impact on society. In 2023 alone, the collaboration between the UB and economic stakeholders has led to the development of 717 projects, the licensing of 11 technologies, and the creation of two spin-offs.

Like the UB, the rest of the country's universities also have similar organizations. At the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), for example, there is an office responsible for managing industrial property that originates within the university, from patent applications to funding promotion and training. At the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), the Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurship unit is responsible for all of this. And a third example: at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), they have launched the UPF INNOValora program, which offers support to researchers to promote the transfer of their research results.

A necessary link

"For many years, knowledge transfer hasn't been on the table, but now everyone is clear that if a country wants to be productive, it needs innovation and the knowledge generated must leave research centers or universities and connect with society," Laia de Nadal, rector of the UPF and president of the Catalan Association of Universities, explained to ARA a few weeks ago. In this regard, the Government of Catalonia has announced the injection of €10 million into the Knowledge Industry Program, with the aim of promoting a knowledge-based economic model by incentivizing the transfer of research results, fostering entrepreneurship, and generating highly skilled jobs.

In addition to financial support, the public program includes a support service that provides training, specialized advice on technology transfer and innovation, personalized mentoring, access to financing and investment funds, as well as opportunities to connect with entrepreneurs, companies, and other key players in the R&D&I system. But who is eligible? The grants are open to research teams from Catalan universities, research and technology centers, hospital foundations, and non-profit institutions with research as their main activity.

The sector has received this with restrained enthusiasm. "It may be an incentive, but we'll have to see how that money is distributed and whether it truly translates into useful things for society," says Josep Maria Espinet. He is a lecturer in the Department of Business at the University of Girona (UdG) and has combined his work in finance with university teaching for more than thirty years. "From the business world, universities are often seen as too distant," he analyzes. He attributes this, among other things, to three factors: the weight of theory—and the lack of practice—in the classroom, the limited hours that professors can dedicate to knowledge transfer, and the administrative obstacles that, despite efforts, still hinder the process. But, at the international level, what is the view of Catalan universities when it comes to knowledge transfer?

The international gaze

Jordi Albó has spent years working to leverage technology as a tool to improve people's quality of life. Born in Arbúcies, he has built a solid academic career in Spain, the Netherlands, and the United States, promoting connections between the university world and the business community. He has been a driving force behind innovative projects in emotional artificial intelligence and cloud computing applied to education and healthcare. He is currently the co-founder and scientific director of Lighthouse, a company based in Boston—where he resides—with ties to Barcelona, ​​​​which channels the talent of the American technological ecosystem to offer solutions to the needs of Southern Europe, Africa, and Latin America.

For him, when talking about knowledge transfer it is necessary to distinguish between two concepts: that of knowledge and that of project: "From the former's point of view, it is necessary that the knowledge generated or transferred by the university be aligned with what the business units of companies need." In the field of projects, he believes that the university should not be a provider of services or goods marketable by industry: "It should act as a gym to test the technological goods developed by industry in good shape." Regarding the university-industry connection, he is categorical: "Currently, they live in a state of cognitive isolation due to the lack of coexistence spaces to work in a co-participatory manner, and not only in a collaborative format." sponsorship, disclosure or networking".

Like Espinet, regarding the 10 million euros in aid from the Generalitat (Catalan Government) to promote knowledge transfer, he also has doubts: "For me, it's poorly targeted: product creation should take place in the entrepreneurial or business environment, not in the research environment." Albó misses the participation of industry: "Making the recipients research centers, foundations, and non-profit institutions will facilitate the generation of knowledge, but will be insufficient for its transfer." And he concludes with a phrase that reinforces his position: "The evidence that there is still much room for improvement is that motivated, entrepreneurial, and talented Catalans too often end up leaving the country, taking their ideas, products, and services."

Despite the pessimism, figures from the Knowledge Transfer Offices of the various Catalan universities show how universities and companies are gradually becoming closer. The Catalan government's grants are appealing: last year's call for proposals funded 120 innovation projects, with a budget that increased from the initial €9 million to €9.7 million at the end of the program.