University – Business Cooperation

Co-operation between higher education and business is now widely recognised to have benefits for both sides. It stimulates knowledge transfer in both directions, leads to long-term partnerships that can open opportunities and improve returns and helps prepare students for future employment.

Examples of successful co-operation between the two sides exist throughout Europe. However, the level of co-operation remains very unequal across countries, universities and academic disciplines and the extent to which it has influenced governance and organisational cultures in both business and higher education is so far limited.
EU Forum for University-Business Dialogue

As part of its activities to support the Member States in their efforts to modernise their higher education systems the European Commission on 2 April 2009 presented a set of measures to develop and strengthen co-operation between universities and businesses.

The Commission proposes to establish the University-Business Forum, which already convened in 2008 and 2009, as a European platform for dialogue. This platform involves higher education institutions, companies, business associations, intermediaries and public authorities. It enables and stimulates them to exchange good practice, discuss common problems and work together on possible solutions.
 Commission Communication "A new partnership for the modernisation of universities: the EU Forum for University Business Dialogue", COM(2009) 158 final, 2 April 2009
 Citizen's Summary: The Commission's proposal in a nutshell
 Commission staff working document accompanying the Communication, SEC(2009) 425, 2 April 2009-04-02
 Impact Assessment, SEC(2009) 423 - Summary

Already in 2006, the Commission highlighted in its Communication “Delivering on the Modernisation Agenda for Universities: Education, Research and Innovation” (COM(2006) 208 final) that Universities have to recognise "that their relationship with the business community is of strategic importance and forms part of their commitment to serving the public interest".

In March 2007 the Commission raised the idea to launch a European Forum on cooperation between Higher Education's Institutions and the economic actors of the society. During a Seminar organised in Brussels in July 2007 involving representatives from the academic and economic world, all participants welcomed and supported the establishment of the forum. For any comment or question, please send a message to -University-BusinessTo know more

 Second European University-Business Forum February 2009
 Thematic Forum on 'Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning' June 2008
 University - Business Forum 28-29 February 2008
 Examples of University - Business Cooperation
 Documents on University – Business cooperation