Industry & Higher Education

IP Publishing Ltd

The world's leading journal for all involved in collaboration between higher education and business

Editorial coverage

Industry and Higher Education, published six times per year, is dedicated to the relationships between business and industry and higher education institutions. With a strong emphasis on practical aspects, the journal covers organizational, economic, political, legal, and social issues relating to developments in education-industry collaboration.
Among the key topics are:

Knowledge transfer from research to commercial application
Educating for entrepreneurship
Clusters and the regional economy
Preparing students for the world of work
International and national initiatives for collaboration
Respective needs in the industry–education relationship
Lifelong learning
University–industry networks
University–industry training programmes
Business–education partnerships for social and economic progress
Skills needs and the role of higher education
Formation, structure and performance of academic spin-off companies
Personnel exchange
Industrial liaison in universities
Intellectual property in the HE sector
Distance education

Submissions - Notes for authors

Please send all submissions to John Edmondson, Industry and Higher Education, IP Publishing Ltd, 258 Belsize Road, London NW6 4BT, UK.
jedmondson(at)ippublishing.com

Type and length of contributions

The major part of the journal is taken up by papers between 4,000 and 8,000 words long. These should be analytical and evaluative in approach and not simply descriptive. Other contributions include opinion or 'viewpoint' pieces (1,500-3,000 words); case studies of specific ventures or programmes (1,500-3,000 words); brief factual summaries of reports, agency programmes, educational institutions, etc (1,000-2,000 words); and letters to the editors.

Presentation

Submissions should be double-spaced. They can be sent either by e-mail to the editor or by post (in which case two hard copies and a disk should be enclosed). Papers should preferably be sent in Word (please note that PDF versions are not acceptable for review purposes). The title page should contain full names of the authors, their professional status or affiliation and the address to which they wish correspondence to be sent. There should be an abstract of about 100 words at the beginning of the paper. The text should be organized under appropriate cross-headings and where possible these should not be more than 800 words apart.

Between 3 and 6 keywords should appear below the abstract, highlighting the main topics of the paper.

References should follow the Harvard system. That is, they should be shown within the text as the author's surname (or authors' surnames) followed by a comma and the year of publication, all in round brackets: for example, (Smith, 1998). At the end of the article a bibliographical list should be supplied, organized alphabetically by author (surnames followed by initials - all authors should be named). Bibliographic information should be given in the order indicated by the following examples:

Articles: Collins, Steven W. (2001), 'Academic research and regional innovation: insights from Seattle, Washington', Industry and Higher Education, Vol 15, No 3, pp 217 - 221.
Books: Roberts, E.B., ed (1991), Entrepreneurs in High Technology, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Notes should be numbered consecutively in the text and typed in plain text at the end of the paper (not as footnotes on text pages).

Figures and tables should be presented separately on separate sheets at the end of the text. Each figure or table must be referred to in the text - the first reference will be used to locate the figure or table in the final printed version.

Prior Publication

Articles are received on the understanding that they are original contributions, and have not been published officially, either in print or electronic form, or submitted for publication elsewhere. In this respect, ‘discussion’ or ‘working’ papers, conference presentations and proceedings are not considered to be official publications, unless they have been formally deemed so by conference organizers, or presented as edited works through recognized publishing channels. If in doubt, authors are asked to draw the attention of the Editor to any prior dissemination of the paper in their letter of submission.

Refereeing

Other than research notes, reports, and personal opinion pieces, articles will be refereed. Papers by authors who are not academics (eg submissions from industry) will also be subject to review before acceptance, but their distinct nature and aims will be fully taken into account.

Copyright

Unless otherwise indicated, articles are received on the understanding that they are original contributions, and have not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. The editors reserve the right to edit or otherwise alter contributions, but authors will see proofs before publication. Wherever possible, authors are asked to assign copyright to IP Publishing Ltd. Relevant authors' rights are protected.

Editorial Board

Editor: John Edmondson, IP Publishing Ltd, 258 Belsize Road, London NW6 4BT, UK. E-mail: jedmondip(at)aol.com or Jedmondson(at)ippublishing.com.

Editorial Advisory Board

Special Adviser: Professor John Kelly, University College Dublin, Ireland
David E. Allnutt
Axia Limited, USA
Professor Graham Beaver
Business Strategy Consultant, UK
Richard A. Bendis
Innovation America, USA
Howard W. Bremer
Attorney at Law, Patent and Licensing Causes, USA
Bruce Calway
Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
Dr Mike Clements
Staffordshire University, UK
Professor Manlio Del Giudice
Second University of Naples, Italy
Professor Marek Dietrich
Higher Education-Business Forum, Poland
Dr E.J. Duff
Innovation Management Consultant, UK
Dr Brian K. Fitzgerald
Business-Higher Education Forum, USA
Professor Piero Formica
Jönköping University, Sweden
Dr Pat Frain
University College Dublin, Ireland
Dr Thomas Gering
Intellectual Asset Management Corp., USA, and CSEM, Switzerland
Keith Gilchrist
Alberta Advanced Education and Technology, Canada
Professor Aaron W. Hughey
Western Kentucky University, USA
Professor Ron Johnston
University of Sydney, Australia
Professor Okyay Kaynak
Bogaziçi University, Turkey
Dr John Kirkland
Association of Commonwealth Universities, UK
Professor John P. Klus
University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
Dr Glenda Kruss
Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa
Dr Loet Leydesdorff
University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Professor Michael J. Lynskey,
Komazawa University, Japan
Professor Harry Matlay
Birmingham City University Business School, UK
Dr Gerard McElwee
University of Lincoln, UK
Professor Jay Mitra
University of Essex, UK
Professor Phillipe Mustar
École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris, France
Professor Hiromitsu Muta
Department of Education, Japan
Dr Constantine N. Papadakis
Drexel University, USA
Professor George M. Papadourakis
Technological Institute of Crete, Greece
Edward Prosser
Consultant, UK
Dr E. H. Robson
Oxford, UK
Dr Robert Ronstadt
former Vice President of Technology Commercialization,
Boston University, USA
Professor Howard Rush
University of Brighton, UK
Professor Takashi Sakamoto
National Institute of Multimedia Education, Japan
Francesc Santacana
Knowledge and Development Foundation, Spain
Dr Peter van der Sijde
Free University Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Professor Urmas Varblane
University of Tartu, Estonia
Professor Hebe Vessuri
Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas, Venezuela
Dr Mary Lindenstein Walshok
University of California at San Diego
Dennys Watson
Consultant, UK
Professor Andrew Webster
University of York, UK

December 2009 ISSUE (VOL 23, NO 6)

420 Monitor

A bimonthly round-up of developments worldwide

423 The value of client perceptions in university strategic planning: an empirical research study

Salvador del Barrio-García and Teodoro Luque-Martínez

437 Networking industry and academia: evidence from FUSION projects in Ireland

Simon Stephens and George Onofrei

445 Evolution of Italian universities’ rules for spin-offs: the usefulness of formal regulations

Elisa Salvador

463 Between scientific playground and industrial workbench

Gabi Kaffka

473 Economic gardening through entrepreneurship education: a service-learning approach

David E. Desplaces, Fred Wergeles and Patrick McGuigan

485 Calendar

486 Index to Volume 23, 2009

Title: The value of client perceptions in university strategic planning: an empirical research study

Author(s): Salvador del Barrio-García and Teodoro Luque-Martínez

Abstract: Given the normative changes in higher education at European, national and regional levels, together with social, economic, demographic and technological developments, universities need to adopt a client-oriented approach and to make this client orientation an integral component of their strategic planning process. The university’s ‘clients’ should thus be involved in its strategic planning. This paper demonstrates how an importance–performance analysis applied to the perceptions of different groups of clients and stakeholders about the institution can be an effective tool in this regard. The proposed methodology will assist managers, and those responsible for university planning, to diagnose the internal situation of the institution by building matrices of points of excellence and deficiencies. In illustrating the effectiveness of this methodology, the authors stress the need for higher education institutions to move from a product orientation, based on the notion that the institution is best able to decide what its clients need, to a client orientation, based on knowledge of who its clients are and on a detailed investigation of their needs and interests.

Title: Networking industry and academia: evidence from FUSION projects in Ireland

Author(s): Simon Stephens and George Onofrei

Abstract: Graduate development programmes such as FUSION continue to be seen by policy makers, higher education institutions and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as primary means of strengthening higher education–business links and in turn improving the match between graduate output and the needs of industry. This paper provides evidence from case studies. The findings indicate that the practical application of academic principles in real-world settings provides a useful learning vehicle for academics, graduates and SMEs. Key success factors and strategies for overcoming obstacles emerged from the case studies. In light of these findings, the authors make tentative recommendations to aid the future delivery of similar programmes.

Title: Evolution of Italian universities’ rules for spin-offs: the usefulness of formal regulations

Author(s): Elisa Salvador

Abstract: Spin-off firms may be seen as a key mechanism for the external transmission of knowledge developed at universities. The proliferation of academic spin-offs in recent years has led universities to develop specific rules for the regulation and management of the spin-off process. This paper draws on the Italian experience. More than fifty Italian universities issued spin-off regulations between 2001 and 2008. The author looks at the reasons why Italian universities have decided to issue these specific regulations to control the research spin-off phenomenon, assesses the similarities and differences between the regulations of various universities and examines whether and to what extent the regulations are useful.

Title: Between scientific playground and industrial workbench

Author(s): Gabi Kaffka

Abstract: The focus of this article is on the impact of cultural influences in academic knowledge transfer (KT). This aspect of the KT process was studied at Dutch and German technical universities. The analysis shows that professional values and identities play an important role in academic KT. Administrators in university KT offices were found to be influenced by values such as efficiency and profitability, like their counterparts in the private industry. At the same time, the KT personnel in both countries shared traditional academic values with the academic staff. With this ability to understand the interests of both the private sector and the academics, KT personnel at universities have taken on a bridging role in mediating between the non-profit interests of academia and the profit interest of external parties. It is argued that, due to the increasingly complex legal and administrative processes involved in transferring knowledge to external partners, KT managers are adapting to a functional niche in modern academic organizations by fulfilling this important ‘bridging role’.

Title: Economic gardening through entrepreneurship education: a service-learning approach

Author(s): David E. Desplaces, Fred Wergeles and Patrick McGuigan

Abstract: This article outlines the implementation of a service-learning approach in an entrepreneurship programme using an ‘economic gardening’ strategy. Economic Gardening through Service-Learning (EGS-L) is an approach to economic development that helps local businesses and students grow through a facilitated learning process. Learning is made possible by appealing to the action orientation of entrepreneurs and supplying students with a real laboratory in which to implement, test and experience theory. Economic gardening effectively strengthens businesses in the community and promotes community awareness by bringing businesses, students, academics and community leaders together in a receptive and proactive environment. The authors draw on first-hand experience from programmes at various institutions and include in their discussion some preliminary results with regard to civic attitudes.