Universities are increasingly involved in regional economic growth, a finding that extends their impact way beyond teaching and research. This is the conclusion from a systematic review of research spanning the decade 2015 to 2025. The research, published in the World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, highlights the ways higher education institutions can help in the emergence and development of entrepreneurial ecosystems.
They do so, the research suggests, through a broad range of knowledge-exchange mechanisms, ranging from consultancy and collaborative research to licensing, patenting, and participation in open innovation networks. These activities, the review explains, do more than transfer technology, they stimulate the creation of spinoffs, impact-driven ventures, and knowledge-based entrepreneurship.
The study looked at how research shows that universities and other higher education institutions are managing their priorities in parallel with industry requirements and cultivating extensive networks. In so doing, those HEIs are boosting the ability of local firms and organisations to recognise, assimilate, and apply external knowledge. This then translates into practical research and applications.
The research cites the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Industrial Liaison Program and Germany’s Fraunhofer Society as examples of how sustained, trust-based partnerships between universities and industry can work to yield high-technology spinoffs, co-developed commercial products, and organisational learning for participating firms.
The work also points out how government can foster innovation and collaboration between industry and academia. The review highlights how knowledge exchange is a non-linear process, in which the more formal mechanisms such as patents and licensing work with informal channels such as consultancy and professional development. Together they reinforce the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
There are implications for university administrators, policymakers, and company executives alike. There is potential for strategically designed collaborations between academia and industry. If these can then muster adequate resources, then innovation cycles can be shortened, regional economic performance improved, and entrepreneurship will benefit overall.
Boodai, N.A. and Boodai, A.A. (2025) ‘Higher education institutions-led entrepreneurial ecosystem building: a systematic review from university-industry knowledge exchange perspective’, World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, Vol. 21, No. 5, pp.72–91.
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