A New Perspective on the Second Academic Revolution
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Universidade de Secção Autónoma de Ciências Sociais, Aveiro Jurídicas e Políticas 2008 Carlos José de Oliveira Universities and regional development: a new e Silva Rodrigues perspective on the second academic revolution tese apresentada à Universidade de Aveiro para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Doutor em Ciências Sociais, realizada sob a orientação científica do Dr. Artur da Rosa Pires, Professor Catedrático da Secção Autónoma de Ciências Sociais, Jurídicas e Políticas da Universidade de Aveiro, e co-orientação do Dr. Kevin Morgan, Professor Catedrático da School of City and Regional Planning, Cardiff University. To Maria and Tatiana O júri presidente Prof. Dra. Maria Helena Vaz de Carvalho Nazaré Reitora da Universidade de Aveiro Prof. Dr. Artur da Rosa Pires professor catedrático da Secção Autónoma de Ciências Sociais, Políticas e Jurídicas da Universidade de Aveiro Prof. Dr. Kevin Morgan professor catedrático da School of City and Regional Planning, Cardiff University Prof. Dr. Pedro Manuel Tavares Lopes de Andrade Saraiva professor associado com agregação da Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra Prof. Dr. Rui Armando Gomes Santiago professor associado com agregação da Secção Autónoma de Ciências Sociais, Políticas e Jurídicas da Universidade de Aveiro Prof. Dr. Eduardo Anselmo Moreira Fernandes de Castro professor associado da Secção Autónoma de Ciências Sociais, Políticas e Jurídicas da Universidade de Aveiro Prof. Dr. Domingos Fernando da Cunha Santos professor adjunto da Escola Superior de Educação do Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco acknowledgments For their friendship, guidance and support, I am grateful to my PhD work supervisors, ARTUR DA ROSA PIRES and KEVIN MORGAN. A thankful word to EDUARDO DE CASTRO, a visionary colleague who was quite helpful in this endeavour, though (or because) often in disagreement. The development of the three case studies carried out would not be possible without the cooperation and friendship of a large number of people. In Cardiff, thanks are due to CLIVE REES, member of the Welsh Assembly Government Innovation Unit, JARMILA DAVIES, head of Know-How Wales, at the Welsh Development Agency, PHILIP COOKE, at CASS-Cardiff University, JOHN THEWLIS, MICHAEL WRIGHT and GARAINT JONES at Cardiff University’s Research and Commercial Services, and ROBERTA SONNINO, at Cardiff University’s School of City and Regional Planning. My appreciation also to NICK BODYCOMBE and MATTHEW WILLIAMSON, at Cardiff University. In Tampere, I acknowledge in particular the friendship and collaboration of MIKA KAUTONEN, researcher at the University of Tampere. Thanks are due to ERKKI KAUKONEN, MARKKU SOTARAUTA, KATI-JASMIN KOSONEN and MIKA NIEMINEN, at the University of Tampere, PEKKA JUSILLA, director of Hermia Business Development Ltd., VELI-MATTI VUORI, at Hermia Technology Centre Ltd., HARRY OSONEN, executive manager of Corelase Oy, KARI KANKALLA and his team (namely LIINA and JOHANNA) at Professia Oy, and MARJATTA MAULA, TIMO RAINIO and MIKKO NIEMINEN at the Tampere University of Technology. Thanks also to my friend ‘KARPPA’, namely for the Finnish lessons. In Central Macedonia, a particular thankful word to MARIA SEFERTZI, at URENIO research group, who was the door-opener. Thanks are also due to NICOS KOMNINOS, head of the URENIO research group, STAMATIS TSIAKARIS, general director of the region of Central Macedonia (thanks also to CELIA TOPALI), COSTAS TRAMANTZAS, head of Thessaloniki Technology Park, and GEORGIA PETRIDOU and KOSTAS PAPASTASSIS, at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Research Committee. A thankful word to GEORGE GIAKOULAKIS, my Thessaloniki’s friend who has shown me some particular facets of the regional innovation system. For their kindness, my appreciation to the people working at PLEVNA, THE OLD ARCADE and ZYTHOS, my favourite workplaces in Tampere, Cardiff and Thessaloniki, respectively. To the UNIVERSITY OF AVEIRO, thanks are due for the opportunity to follow an academic career that allowed me to develop this challenging but rewarding endeavour. I hope it can be a useful contribution for the strengthening of the University’s role in the development of the region. For their support, thanks to my colleagues at CEIDET. A thankful word to the providers of the musical background, in particular, STEVE HACKETT. Last but not least, to my family, particularly MARIA and TATIANA, for their patience and understanding. keywords Universities, regional development, institutional capacity building. abstract This dissertation aims to contribute to the advancement of the knowledge on the role universities play in regional development processes. It draws on the argument according to which there is an ongoing revolution in academia, configured by the integration of economic development in the mission realm of universities, together with teaching and research. Taking into account the nature and challenges of the contemporary dynamics of societal change, it asserts that the changing academic mission is being taken by dominant scholar approaches in a narrow, incomplete fashion, because almost exclusively focused on the technology transferred between universities and their regions’ productive fabric. In accordance, the dissertation proposes a broader perspective on the academic revolution, in order to introduce in the debate relevant regional development resources that universities can provide, which are left out of the mainstreamed picture. It does that by studying the part played by universities in the promotion of the regional capabilities needed to combine and mobilise the knowledge and relational resources that nourish the collective capacity for collective action, i.e., the resources and processes that build up regional institutional capacity. The research work aims to search for answers to four major questions, which ground the guiding inquiry line. The first relates to the role of regional development agents assumed by universities and the extent to which their agency makes them institutional capacity builders. The second focuses on the ways universities are organising themselves in order to deal with the challenges inherent to third mission activities. The third mirrors the contextual and mutually reinforcing nature of the university-region nexus. The fourth and final question addresses the particularities that expectably characterise universities’ regional engagement in less favoured regions. The dissertation takes as point of departure the conceptualisation and reasoning of the challenges associated with contemporary societal change, which, under the dialectics between the idea of the University and the idea of the Society, is shaping academic change. Drawing on the resulting scenery of academic change, it details the nature and implications of the revolutionary move in academia, identifies the shortages of the mainstream approach and introduces a new, broader perspective on the second academic revolution. The case studies undertaken in three universities operating in different European regional contexts offer a picture of the second academic revolution, in its extended version, taken from the point of view of practice. This picture provides the empirical evidence that configures the answers to the major research questions and underpins the conclusive remarks on the role of universities in regional development and its revolutionatry nature. palavras-chave Universidades, desenvolvimento regional, capacidade institucional resumo O presente trabalho visa contribuir para alargar o conhecimento sobre o papel que as universidades podem desempenhar nos processos de desenvolvimento regional. Esse papel é abordado com base no argumento de que as dinâmicas de mudança no mundo académico assumem contornos revolucionários, configurados pela inserção do desenvolvimento económico na missão das universidades, em paralelo com o ensino e a investigação. O trabalho defende que a perspectiva dominante sobre as mudanças na missão académica, centrada quase exclusivamente nos processos de transferência de tecnologia entre as universidades e os tecidos produtivos regionais, negligencia vertentes da relação universidade-região que, tendo em conta a natureza e os desafios da sociedade contemporânea, assumem grande relevância. Assim, a dissertação propõe uma perspectiva alargada sobre a revolução académica, por forma a introduzir no debate recursos de desenvolvimento que as universidades podem fornecer às suas regiões e que, no âmbito da abordagem tradicional, são menosprezados. Para o efeito, a investigação incide sobre o papel das universidades na promoção da capacidade institucional das regiões, ou seja a combinação e mobilização de recursos de conhecimento e de recursos relacionais que sustentam a acção colectiva. O trabalho procura responder a quatro questões de investigação essenciais. A primeira refere-se ao papel que as universidades, como agentes de desenvolvimento económico, assumem nos processos de construção da capacidade institucional das regiões; a segunda prende-se com os arranjos organizacionais que estão a ser adoptados nas universidades como forma de enfrentar os desafios associados à nova missão académica; a terceira espelha a influência que as condições contextuais exercem sobre a intensidade e qualidade das relações universidade-região e explora a possibilidade da ocorrência de benefícios mútuos; a quarta questão aborda as particularidades que marcam o papel das universidades em regiões menos favorecidas. A investigação parte da conceptualização