University-Industry Collaboration

What role does university-industry collaboration take in the financing of higher education?
Tempted by stories of the fabulous wealth garnered by universities like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a number of countries have sought to imitate the success of some American institutions by promoting greater entrepreneurialism at their universities. However, even in the most successful cases, universities only cover a small percentage of their expenses through income from commercialization activities.

The most recent survey by the Association of University Technology Managers found that industrial sources in the United States covered just 7 percent of total research expenditures at universities in 2005 (Association of University Technology Managers 2005). Income from commercialization activities also tends to be concentrated in a few institutions. In Australia, for example, over 80 percent of profits in 2002 were received by three institutions (Australian Institute of Commercialisation 2004). Given the mounting pressure on the budgets of higher education institutions, however, university-industry collaboration cannot be ignored as a one method among many to diversify the revenue sources of higher education.

What resources are available on this topic?
There is a vast literature on university-industry collaboration. However, most work on this topic focuses on appropriate government policy, the economic outcomes of university-industry collaboration, or the characteristics of universities that are particularly good at commercializing their inventions. Relatively little work focuses primarily on quantifying the financial gains to higher education. The resources presented here are included because they relate to the private financing of higher education. However, it is clear that more systematic research is needed to quantify the financial value of university-industry collaboration in many parts of the world.

Information is divided into General Resources, North America, Europe, and Australia and New Zealand. Although university-industry collaboration exists in many parts of the world, the regions covered here have witnessed the greatest degree of collaboration between universities and industry. Each section is further divided into key documents, arranged in reverse chronological order, and relevant Web pages.