ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY
cannot be understated. Universities can
provide the tertiary courses, student pathways,
and partnerships between for students and
corporations to play a critical role in fostering a
mature ecosystem.
Stanford University and University of California,
Berkeley have been central partners in the rise of
Silicon Valley. University of Texas is credited with
supporting the digital renaissance of Austin and
Texas more broadly.
If cities, towns or nations seek to
manufacture or cultivate digital
innovation, the role of universities
cannot be understated.
• Is this simply borne from the fact that
young people congregate at universities
and university-life provides students with
opportunities and time to collaborate and
create?
• Are university students more likely to
take risks, challenge the norm and be
technologically curious, therefore more likely to
innovate?
•
Do universities with a strong pedigree for
research and development bring a higher
degree of collaboration which links students with
real-life industry experience and capital?
A proactive university (or TAFE) can be another key driver
to promote collaboration and promote digital innovation.
Economic development practitioners need to understand
the course offering, industry placement programs and
international partnerships offered by their local university
or TAFE. These opportunities need to be actively
promoted throughout the local business sector to ensure
collaboration between the tertiary/vocational education
sector and the local business sector remains relevant,
reflective of local industry needs and provides access for
local businesses to benefit from the university’s digital
innovation capabilities and research and development.
An Australian example of strong local links between
university capability, innovation and business
competitiveness is the establishment of Carbon Nexus
within Deakin University in Geelong with provides
industry with access to a team of globally recognised
high technology materials experts to deliver the solutions
for businesses and researchers to gain a competitive
advantage
Play Tech Center in Silicon Valley very explicitly displayed the financial value of start-up companies from major US universities via a graph
which compared the worth of different companies and the universities these start-ups originated from.
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