The European Commission’s scienceand knowledge service

Joint Research Centre

Universities and Smart Specialisation:

the projects HESS e Targeted Support

Elisabetta Marinelli

Porto, 16th November 2017

Programming period 2014-2020 – Ex-ante conditionality

Research and Innovation as engine of territorialdevelopment

Identification of priorities for R&I investment – attentionto market

Place-based: build on territory's assets

Partecipation: Triple Helix (o Quadruple Helix)

Smart Specialisation

1. Tackling future skills mismatches and promoting excellence in skills development;

2. Building inclusive and connected higher education systems;

3. Ensuring higher education institutions contribute to innovation;

4. Supporting effective and efficient higher education systems.

…support evidence for policy-making and practice

HEIs and Smart Specialisation

The Commission will :

12. Further roll out Higher Education for Smart Specialisation, to provide advice to public authorities to involve HEIs and, where possible, EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), closely in the design and implementation of Smart Specialisation Strategies.

COM(2017) 247 Final: A renewed EU agenda for higher education The Commission will :

17. Optimise synergies between EU evidence tools by creating a Knowledge Hub on higher education.

S3 Platform

Areas of work Analytical tools

S3 Platform

Strumenti analitici

Észak-Alföld Nord-Vest

Nord-Est

Eastern Macedonia

and Thrace

Puglia

Warminsko

Masurskie

Targeted support to RIS3 implementation in selected regions

Support to the definition and implementation of S3 in

selected EU reigons

Co-definition of the working programme

Interaction with actors and institutions

Sharing of results at the EU level

Targeted Support

Észak-Alföld Nord-i

Nord-Est

Eastern Macedonia

and Thrace

Puglia

Warminsko

Masurskie

Targeted support to RIS3 implementation in selected regionsTargeted Support: Involvement of HEIs

Entrepreneurial Discovery Process –

4-ple helix, key role of research sector

Észak-Alföld Nord-Vest

Nord-Est

Eastern Macedonia

and Thrace

Puglia

Warminsko

Masurskie

Targeted support to RIS3 implementation in selected regionsTargeted Support: Involvement of HEIs

Working group on researchers' mobility

Észak-Alföld Nord-Vest

Nord-Est

Eastern Macedonia

and Thrace

Puglia

Warminsko

Masurskie

Targeted support to RIS3 implementation in selected regionsTargeted Support: Involvement of HEIs

Analysis of the potential of tech-transfer

Higher Education & Smart Specialisation

The HESS project: What?Launched in March 2016 in collaboration with DG Education and Culture

University as a recognised strategic partner

•Focus on research

Human capital– Great absentee

•Sustainability of RIS3

•University as a generator of human capital (traditional and vocational)

•Need to understand the match between demand and supply of skills/competences

More info

•http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/hess

Észak-Alföld Nord-Vest

Nord-Est

Eastern Macedonia

and Thrace

Puglia

Warminsko

Masurskie

Targeted support to RIS3 implementation in selected regionsHigher Education and Smart Specialisation

Higher Education and Smart Specialisation:

Completed: Romania Nord-Est/NavarraOngoing: Puglia, SeverenTsentralen, Centre-Val de Loire

Higher Education & Smart Specialisation: Objectives

• Understand the role of tertiary education in RIS3 implementation

Analytical

• Support collaboration

• Favour match of demand and supply of skills

• Identification of shared challenged

Support 3-helix

• Extract policy implications for selected regions and for EU as a whole

Policy

Methodology

Identification of Region

Identificationof themes

Explorativemeeting withstakeholders

Desk-basedresearch

Fieldwork

Final workshop

withstakeholders

• Lowest GDP per capita in Romania (260/263 in EU).

• Low-skill, low-tech economy including textiles, food,

wood and metal products.

• Iasi important academic and cultural center

• Incipient regional innovation system

• Pro-active RDA

• Good HEIs system

• 7 public universities high in national classifications

• 2 private ones

• Universities differ in size, scientific area and

relationship to the public and private sectors.

• Universities mainly focussed on education and

research.

HESS NE-Romania case study

HESS NE-Romania case study

HEIs' Traditional missions

HEIs' Third

mission

RIS 3

How S3 impacts on (HEIs) in the region?

How can HEIs support to S3?

Centralised system

HESS NE-Romania case study

• June 2016

• Identification of key issues

• Self-assessment

• Trust building

ExploratoryWorkshop

• Autumn 2016

• In-depth understanding of key issues

Semi-structured interviews

• December 2016

• Validation of results

• Identification of policy actions

• Building a common visions

Leadership workshop

HESS NE-Romania case study

Teaching: New teaching & learning methods

Research: Balancing international and local levels

Third mission: More openness to TT and territorial engagement

NeedsUniversities in the RIS3 governance system

Analysis of ESIF funds

Study on tech transfer

Actions

HESS Navarre Case study – 1

Key characteristics

• High level of techno-economic development

• Good systemic links for innovation

• Decentralised system

• 1 Private university (old, international)

• 1 Public university (recent, regionally grounded)

National competences

•Structure and governance of universities

•Modalities of recruitement and contract types

•Accreditation of scientists and degrees

• International Excellence Campus

Regional competences

•Public universities are funded by regional governments

•Evaluation and monitoring of performance

•Specific calls for attracting talent, collaboration projects with regional actors, etc

HESS Navarre Case study – 2

• Explore alignment of the educational and research supply to S3 priorities

• Identify incentives for HEIs' engagement in S3 activities

Main research objectives

• Assess role of interregional cooperation (Euroregion Aquitaine-Navarre-Basque Country) can boost the role of universities in S3

Secondary objective

HESS Navarre Case study – 3

HEIs &

S3

Research & education S3-

aligned

Variety of instruments

Administrative environment

Glocal HEIs

S3 in academic strategic plans

Thematic chairs, Industrial PhDs, Innovation Ecosystem National, regional

Division of competences poses challenges

Emerging educational trendTools to respond to regional needs.

Next case-study: Puglia

Themes

ITS

• Example of“vocationaltraining”

Industrial PhD

• Understand potential

Characteristics

National-levelinstruments

• “Multi-levelgovernance”

Instruments thatinvolve severalactors

• Triple-helix

Objectives

Dialogue

• Informative, strategic and administrativeneeds

Identify HESS value-added

• For all actors

Thank you!

http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/

http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/s3-targeted-support

http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/hess

Elisabetta.Marinelli@ec.europa.eu