THE ROLE OF UNIVERSITIES IN URBAN POLES: A CASE STUDY OF ENSCHEDE, NETHERLANDS This report has been produced by the URBACT II network RUnUP following a study visit to Enschede in the Netherlands between the 24th and 25th of March 2010. Enschede is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region. The city is a former centre of textile production. When this industry left the area for cheaper production centres in South-East Asia, Enschede became one of the poorest municipalities in the Netherlands. The biggest challenge of the city is to prevent higher educated (wealthy) citizens from moving to the west (Randstad). Decades of renovation work in the city centre have been carried out with the goal of making Enschede more attractive to this group. The Universiteit Twente (University of Twente), a university with mostly technical studies, is located in Enschede. It's one of the three technical universities in the Netherlands (besides Delft University of Technology and Eindhoven University of Technology). The Universiteit Twente is also the only large campus university in the Netherlands. Figure 1: The University of Twente STUDY VISIT KEY QUESTIONS A visit to the Enschede exploring the role of universities and wider development of enterprise and entrepreneurship, in particularly the activities of the University of Twente, inevitably raises a range of critical questions: • What has driven the University of Twente to develop its entrepreneurial capacity and profile? • What are the core elements of the University of Twente model that enable it to be referenced as an “entrepreneurial university” • Can the “Entrepreneurial University” concepts of the University of Twente be replicated elsewhere? • How has the successful development of the University of Twente impacted upon the local communities of Enschede and Hengelo? • What has been the involvement of local Government in Enschede and Hengelo in shaping economic development policy and the strategic direction and approach of the University? • What are the new developments of the University of Twente and how will these support the further development of Enschede and Hengelo and enable these local communities to address the issues of the economic crisis? The aim of this document is to explore the activities of the University of Twente and the local communities of Enschede, Hengelo and the wider province and region that support the enhancement of the university role within these communities. Figure 2: Images of the University of Twente According to the law in the Netherlands each university has three different tasks; education, research and service to the community. This last aspect includes knowledge and technology transfer. The process of knowledge and technology transfer should bridge the gap between fundamental research (the core activity of a university and research institutes), applied research (the research that is tailor-made for industry) and society. In practice, the transfer of knowledge obtained by research is easier with the larger companies that can afford to invest in new knowledge and technology and in most cases have a research- laboratory of their own, than it is to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Alongside this at a National level a key aim of the Netherlands Innovation Platform is a focus on entrepreneurship. Specifically this includes the focus on increasing entrepreneurship and enhancing the business climate with the aim of increasing the share of fast-growing companies, increasing the number of innovative start-ups, enhancing the attitude towards entrepreneurship and increasing interaction between SMEs and knowledge based institutions. STAGE 1: FROM TEXTILES TO UNIVERSITY CITY Historically Enschede was a large production centre for textiles, originally as a cottage industry, but since the start of the 19th century on an industrial scale, especially in the manufacture of bombazijn (a mixture of cotton and linen) proved an export success. In the 1970s textile production in Enschede came to a halt due to fierce competition, mainly from the Far East. This had a profound effect on the city population. Enschede became one of the poorest municipalities in the Netherlands and (de facto) went bankrupt. Today unemployment in the City of Enschede is between 14 and 15% but has limited employment opportunities and as a result an ambition of creating a further 10,000 new jobs over the next decade. The University was founded in 1961 as the Technische Hogeschool Twente, the Netherlands’ third higher vocational institute of technology later to become a university (the other two being Delft and Eindhoven). The Dutch government’s decision to locate the new institute in Enschede, the main city of Twente, was based on the rich industrial heritage of the city. Another important consideration was the fact that the local economy needed a boost to compensate for the dwindling textile industry. Figure 3: Images of Kennispark and Twente Business and Science Park The University of Twente has a world class research programme. In the applied sciences, the emphasis is on nanotechnology, process technology, engineering, information & communication technology, and the biomedical sciences. UT research programmes are organised in six research institutes: • Institute for Nanotechnology (MESA+) • BioMedical Technological Institute (BMTI) • Centre for Telematics and Information technology (CTIT) • Institute for Behavioural Research (IBR) • Institute for Governance Studies (IGS) • Institute of Mechanics, Processes and Control Twente (IMPACT). Alongside this the university has the following departments and faculties • Behavioural Sciences • Management and Governance • Engineering Technology • Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science • Science and Technology • International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) The University of Twente places great emphasis on the useful application of knowledge in society. Patents, life-long learning programmes, and spin-off companies testify to this commitment, as does the university's intensive involvement in research programmes that enhance knowledge infrastructure in the Netherlands. So far it has produced 600 spin-off companies; more than any other Dutch university. STAGE 2: FROM GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION TO KNOWLEDGE INTENSIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP The University of Twente see "entrepreneurs as a bridge between university and industry". Their Entrepreneurial University journey began in 1980 with an initial study of graduate enterprise which identified that 50 people with 43 businesses were enterprise active while 80% of staff were supportive of enterprise development. As a result the overwhelming consensus was that within the university "people who develop new companies should be supported". As a result the Temporary Entrepreneurial Positions (TOP) programme was started at the University of Twente when Prof. H. van den Kroonenberg began to support new entrepreneurs in his own research group. Since this was successful, (financial) support was sought and found in the Ministry of Economic Affairs in 1984. When Van den Kroonenberg became Rector of the University he supported the TOP-Programme and other entrepreneurial activities of the University of Twente. The Liaison Group was involved in the TOP-Programme from the start. It became supported by the Board of the University and received financial support, first from Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and later from the European Social Fund. The TOP-Programme recognises that there is a gap between fundamental research and the application of knowledge in surrounding society and that entrepreneurs with access to research groups and their knowledge and expertise and facilities are able to bridge that gap. This is reflected in the mission statement for TOP "To stimulate as many people as possible to create a company on the fields of knowledge of the University of Twente that have a good possibility to survive in the long-term". During the first year the knowledge-based company supported by TOP is located in the university. After the first year they have to move on (ideally to the Business and Technology Centre-BTC and when they have grown too big for the BTC, they should move to their own premises on the Business & Science Park). During one year knowledge-based firms can be on the TOP-Programme. Prerequisites for entering the TOP-Programme are having a business idea that matches with the interest of staff-members in one of the research-groups of the university and having a consistent business plan. On that basis the TOP coaching committee makes its decision on whether the entrepreneur is suitable for the programme. Figure 4: Spin-off Company formation at the University of Twente TOP strives to stimulate graduates and researchers “to start their own knowledge- intensive company.” Assistance in the “incubation-phase” is considered to be important. As the programme developed in the 1980s, the University offered an interest-free loan (up to 20,000 euro), office space and connection to a University research group. But also advice and training in preparing a business plan and working out management, marketing, and financing strategies. Of those going through the programme 80% have been graduates and researchers, 15% from other universities and 5% from industry. Entry in TOP is open for knowledge based companies, for entrepreneurs (no students) with a full time commitment with the support of a University research group