UNIVERSITY INDUSTRY GOVERNMENT INTERACTIONS IN GREECE: EVIDENCE AND STRATEGIES An analysis Prof Panayiotis H. Ketikidis, PhD President of the THA Chapter of Greece Vice Principal of The University of Sheffield International Faculty, CITY College Chairman of the South East European Research Centre 1
About the presenter Professor Panos H. Ketikidis, PhD The University of Sheffield International Faculty, CITY COLLEGE Innovation, Research and External Relations, CITY COLLEGE Chairman South East European Research Centre (SEERC) Member of the Senate University of Sheffield President of the Triple Helix Chapter of Greece Editor in Chief The International Journal of Innovation and Regional Development 2
Outline of the presentation Part 1 First Roundtable Discussion on TH interactions Part 2 Second Roundtable Discussion on RIS3 Part 3 Next Steps 3
Part 1 First Roundtable Discussion on TH interactions 4
About the First Roundtable Discussion September 2013, Thessaloniki, Greece http://triplehelixgreece.eu/first-roundtable/ Rector of Harokopio University of Athens President of the Greek International Business Association Loughborough University President of the Association of ICT Companies of Northern Greece SEPVE MEP Committee on Industry, European Parliament Secretary General of the GSRT, Ministry of Education 1 st Vice-President of the Thessaloniki Chamber of Commerce and Industry Dean of the School of Science and Technology, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki Head of the Department of Applied Informatics, University of Macedonia) 5
First Roundtable The Questions GOVERNMENT: How the involvement of the government could assist triple helix interactions/relations? How the current/future policy specifically supports universityindustry collaborations? ACADEMIA: How can you(academia) pro-actively collaborate/communicate with the industry so that your expectations from industry are met? Whatisthebridgetoindustry? INDUSTRY: How can we(industry) enhance the cooperation with academia? Do we need Entrepreneurial courses in the non-business Academic Curricula?(and general views on the broad THA topic) 6
First Roundtable The Questions - Government How the involvement of the government could assist triple helix interactions/relations? The government focuses on EU2020 goals for entrepreneurship, Innovation Union and Smart Specialization Strategy. There are 4 levels of intervention:» International (enable funds to support access to information for business related to EU2020 funding).» National.» Sectoral.» Regional. GOVERNMENT 7
First Roundtable The Questions - Government How the current/future policy specifically supports university-industry collaborations? At the current stage, GSRT is in the process of formulating the policies. At the end of this year it will be published the National Strategyforthenextyear,withmainfocusonhowtobettersupport the link between academia, research centres and SMEs. GOVERNMENT 8
First Roundtable The Questions - Academia How can you (Academia) pro-actively collaborate/communicate with the industry so that your expectations from industry are met? The main aspect to consider regarding this issue is whether all actors involved are willing to change at both cultural/political level. Secondly, the issue of combining Research outputs with economic growth must also be understood. Greece could become a research/technological service oriented country such as Estonia where all policies are based on technology. What is the bridge to industry? Technology transfer offices. => Buttheydonotwork!!! ACADEMIA 9
First Roundtable The Questions - Industry Do we need Entrepreneurial courses in the non-business Academic Curricula?(and general views on the broad THA topic) We cannot rely on Horizon2020 to guide our agendas. We need more reliance on THA. Need confluence of ideas facilitated by the government. Regarding government: encourage banks to invest. Regarding industry and academia: innovation in practice leads to creation of new jobs. Knowledgeable working force is the key in the knowledge based economy. 1 million IU Graduates shortage in the next years. IT job market in the next years 5 Billion dollars. INDUSTRY 10
First Roundtable The Questions - Industry How can we (industry) enhance the cooperation with academia? We cannot rely on Horizon2020 to guide our agendas. In Greece we have these TH pillars as 3 big empires in one big kingdom. We need to restructure this cooperation Solution: We need to establish a COMMON goal! Current status: Academia: produces knowledge. Government: absorbs EU money. Business: produce products for the market. INDUSTRY 11
First Roundtable Final Remarks We teach students to create jobs (entrepreneurship), not only to find jobs. Severe brain drain. Academics need to practice entrepreneurship, collaborate with industry and industrialize research (exploit internally developed research). EU should adopt international best practices Not only change incentives, but create new ones! In Greece we need: Real universities. Real research centres. Real businesses. Tackle mediocrity from TH actors as Finland did after USSR destruction. We need a structural reform so that THA to work. 12
Part 2 Second Roundtable Discussion on TH interactions The central pillar of the discussion was the extent to which triple helix interactions can enable the implementation of the smart specialization strategy towards economic growth. 13
The location 14
The location Made up from seven entities: Thessaloniki Halkidiki, Pieria, Serres, Kilkis, Imathia, Pella 15
Basic demographics Serres 75 thousand Total population about 2.2 million Thessaloniki, 1.2 million metropolitan region Veroia 65 thousand Katerini 85 thousand 16
Other regional data 1 major port with international zones 1 international airport 2 neighboring countries F.Y.R. Macedonia. and Bulgaria (EU member) 2 basic road axis north-south: Europe to Greece east-west: Italy to Turkey 4 universities and about 90 departments 17
Administration tasks Basic responsibilities Structural: National Strategic Reference Framework Corporate and industrial: licensing and auditing Development: European and domestic programs Agricultural: policy Transportation: vehicle registrations and licenses Technical: road maintenance, construction of buildings of public interest Environmental: control 18
Advantages Favorable Geographic Positioning in the greater South-East European area Part of the European energy and transport networks Concentration of important economic activities Dynamic industrial base Specialized workforce Rich natural, soil, water and underground resources Strong cultural and business tradition and vigor Great development of the shores and tourist resources year round Strong relationships with neighboring countries (cultural, economic, historical) Significant research and educational infrastructures 19
Disadvantages Environmental degradation Limited monitoring and control mechanisms Traffic congestion problems in urban centers Lack of integrated approaches for the transportation system Low level of innovation Limited willingness of entrepreneurs to take business risks Domination of traditional, labor-intensive, and of low specialization economic sectors of activity Primary sector lags behind in technology terms Underestimation of the importance of training and life-long learning 20
About the Second Roundtable Discussion February 2014, Thessaloniki, Greece http://triplehelixgreece.eu/first-roundtable/ Secretary General of the GSRT, Ministry of Education Region of Central Macedonia (Greece) Attica Ventures Rector of the University of Macedonia President of the Alexandria Innovation Zone President of CERTH Federation of Industries of Northern Greece Aristotle University of Thessaloniki South East European Research Centre 21
Second Roundtable The Questions The central pillar of the discussion was the extent to which triple helix interactions can enable the implementation of the smart specialization strategy towards economic growth. 22
Second Roundtable Main results I there is a strategic convergence among the stakeholders the national agency for innovation intention and high motivation of all the stakeholders to collaborate in order to properly deliver their services, knowledge and know-how towards the market demands & and society Key specialization areas of Northern Greece: agri-food, energy, tourism, building materials, transportation and logistics, ICT, textile industry, sea industries, green development biology and nanotechnology high need to increase the competitiveness and the internationalization through innovation through proper convergence of triple helix stakeholders 23
Second Roundtable Main results Enterprises need support in order to turn to the universities and research centres for finding solutions for developing their products and making them suitable for the market government needs to provide a stable political and taxation framework, offering at the same time opportunities to support the entrepreneurs at the strategic planning of their actions and investments the 3 stakeholders share common interests and their collaboration will create multiple benefits and win-win situations for the creation of internationally commercialised goods and services the Greek economy is at a critical point and no more time should be wasted towards defining policies and actions which will promote the growth 24
Part 3 Next Steps 25
What actions can be taken? I Courses at universities promoting knowledge on innovation and entrepreneurship. Create a new vision especially for academia. Simplify policies. Stability of Starting a business procedures Openness of government especially for the student to know how establish business. What else? Increase the governmental budget allowance for applied research. Make TH interaction work appropriately. Venture capital and funding does not work appropriately in Greece since there is no assessment of the innovation 26
What actions can be taken? II procedural simplification, provision of incentives/motivation, creation and support of research clusters with representatives from all triple helix stakeholders, support for innovation in relation to SMEs, programs for business start-ups, programs for youth innovation clusters programs for the valorisation of research outcomes so that added value is created from the money invested in the market. Furthermore, fund absorption from and for innovation is critical for the strategic planning of the region s smart specialisation strategy. 27
Finally To this end, the matter of governance and intermediation among the triple helix actors in Greece, relies in the actual coordination and integration of stakeholders visions, with academia having, not the role of the leader, but of the main motion driver in the process of regional economic growth. In this context, this research will present such a vision/framework for Greece which responds to the needs identified through this first roundtable discussion on triple helix interactions. 28
About Prof. Panos H. Ketikidis, PhD THANK YOU! Research Interests Innovation and Regional Development Supply Chain Management Information Systems ICT Policy and Research Strategy Health Informatics Contact information: ketikidis@city.academic.gr Chief Editor of the International Journal of Innovation & Regional Development Associate Editor of the International Journal of Logistics Economics and Globalisation 29