In recent years, universities have become more and more active in performing new roles which have been added to the most traditional ones of being knowledge factories and human capital factories. This has led to a number of changes, among which a trasformation of their role within urban and regional contexts and in particular an increase in their impact on the development of mid-sized university towns. Universities have progressively opened towards the external world and have paid a lot of attention to the diffusion and economic exploitation of research results (from this perspective, universities are considered as technology transfer factories) and at the same time they have started to embrace a new mission, that is the animation of economic and social development processes and the generation of new capacities and innovative projects, especially in the regions and cities in which they are present (that is, universities as territorial development factories). Through a number of initiatives and actions, such as incubators, new services for technology transfer, participation to local development agencies, etc., universities nowadays interact with firms in a number of new ways and are considered as crucially important actors in innovation policies, thanks to their efforts to promote knowledge transfer processes and strengthen the innovative capacities of local manufacturing systems. Within this kind of evolution, the present paper aims at analysing the relations between universities and territorial contexts. In particular, it highlights how universities can play a role in knowledge and economic development, especially in the case of medium sized university towns. From a methodological point of view, the contribution of universities to urban development could be analysed from five different perspectives: 1) a cognitive perspective according to which universities contribute to the development of new fields of knowledge and new technological sectors and to the integration between tacit knowledge, which is produced at local level, and codified knowledge, which circulates at global level; the mobility of qualified human resources represents the main vector of knowledge diffusion processes; 2) an economic perspective, according to which universities are an important economic actors especially for small and medium sized cities, since they offer many highly skilled jobs; they produce a direct and indirect economic impact (from qualified research services to elementary ones connected to the use and the maintainance of structures and spaces); the scientific activity and the training of young graduates generate a context favourable to the creation of scientific spin-off companies, supported by incubators and technology transfer activities; 3) a social perspective according to which university activity involves the presence of physical and virtual facilities, such as libraries, laboratories, telematic facilities, which can have a positive impact on all urban contexts and on the cultural level of the local community; universities can therefore play a sort of a civil role, supporting the construction of places and occasions of public and pluralist debate; for instance, some studies show the relation between the presence of a university in a territorial context and the propensity of the residents to collaborate for the collective good, to partecipate actively to political events, to promote a sustainable quality of life; 4) a relational perspective according to which universities represent an important actor and can play a central role in the local networking and in the urban governance dynamics; at the same time, they guarantee the internationalization process of a territorial context, playing the role of knowledge gatekeeper, through the mobility of human resources, the circulation of knowledge through publications, conference comunications, patents; 5) a cultural perspective according to which the presence of the university leaves traces on the urban landscape, in terms of research and high-tech infrastructures and living spaces of the student population and researchers, which become visible signs and symbols of the city. The cultural perspective highlights the role of the university in relation to the construction of the urban identity and to its attitude to be open and inclusive. After describing the above mentioned perspectives, the research work presented in the paper is based on the comparison of cases of European medium sized university towns, i.e. medium sized towns in which the presence of one or more universities represents by far one the most relevant economic player. The case studies are Oxford in England, Leuven in Belgium and Pisa in Italy. In particular, the history of the relation between the university and the urban development in these towns is described, considering both material and immaterial components; the relevance of universities as actors of urban transformation, hubs for the production of knowledge as well as technological innovation, centres for new cultural and innovative projects (not only from a technological point of view) is then discussed, considering them as actors of a new urban governance as well as relevant players in international relations. We will use some quantitative data to assess and compare the economic and technological impact of the three universities and such analysis will be enriched by some qualitative evidences, obtained through interviews to opinion leaders, existing reports and sources of visual analysis used to explain the visible signs of the university presence and its significance for the urban identity. Some first results of our analysis could be summarised in these points: - The cases studies show that universities can really influence and have a positive impact on the development of med-sized towns and on their ranking in urban hierarchies; although the presence of the university is pervasive and with material marks, the relationship between university and town looks in any cases different. - Oxford is an emblematic example of academic success, but also has produced significant economic results, in terms of the impact of research activity on the entrepreneurial fabric and on the new start-up creation. Leuven is also a town strongly oriented to the production of knowledge, which has, especially in recent years, invested in exploiting the results of scientific research and in fostering the creation of spin-off companies. Spillovers are significant, although less consolidated than Oxford, which has started earlier to promote the technology trasfer, taking advantage also of the geographical proximity to London. - Undoubtedly, the University, in all three cases, is an important international gateway, especially from the scientific point of view, even if the Oxford University occupies the top positions in international rankings in comparison with the University of Pisa and the Catholic University of Leuven. About the attraction of foreign students and teachers, especially Oxford, but also Leuven, they have a very strong attraction at global level. Pisa attracts many students from Italy, especially from the Southern regions, but a much lower number of foreign students. - Concerning the economic and social impact, linked to the presence of students, the relationship between the number of students and residents is very high in all three cases, due to the good/excellent quality of teaching and to the advantageous environmental conditions. However, the retention capacity of students and the promotion of new entrepreneurship, especially in Pisa, are lower, even if significant in the Italian context. - The partecipation of universities to the urban governance is another aspect explored in our work. In Oxford and Leuven, the University is an important actor, but it doesn’t play a strategic role in the urban planning. Pisa shows a limited presence of the university in defining development vision of the city, in comparison to other experiences, such as Grenoble, where universities and urban institutions tighly collaborate to the creation of a “ville de l’innovation”. - The analysis of existing and new infrastructures and the analysis of social behaviours of university people (students, researchers, etc.) have also permitted to present a first evaluation about how universities can really contribute to the building up of a specific urban identity and to the definition of original development models based on scientific research, innovation and high-tech activities: all three case studies could be considered historic university towns for their ancient foundation and town campus, for the distribution of many old university buildings within the urban area. In conclusion, these analysis allow us to highlight also critical aspects concerning the relationship between universities and medium sized town. They made it possible to rethink the urban policies oriented to strenghthen the capacity to enhance the economic and cultural role of universities.
Knowledge development in university towns,
LAZZERONI, MICHELA
2013-01-01
Abstract
In recent years, universities have become more and more active in performing new roles which have been added to the most traditional ones of being knowledge factories and human capital factories. This has led to a number of changes, among which a trasformation of their role within urban and regional contexts and in particular an increase in their impact on the development of mid-sized university towns. Universities have progressively opened towards the external world and have paid a lot of attention to the diffusion and economic exploitation of research results (from this perspective, universities are considered as technology transfer factories) and at the same time they have started to embrace a new mission, that is the animation of economic and social development processes and the generation of new capacities and innovative projects, especially in the regions and cities in which they are present (that is, universities as territorial development factories). Through a number of initiatives and actions, such as incubators, new services for technology transfer, participation to local development agencies, etc., universities nowadays interact with firms in a number of new ways and are considered as crucially important actors in innovation policies, thanks to their efforts to promote knowledge transfer processes and strengthen the innovative capacities of local manufacturing systems. Within this kind of evolution, the present paper aims at analysing the relations between universities and territorial contexts. In particular, it highlights how universities can play a role in knowledge and economic development, especially in the case of medium sized university towns. From a methodological point of view, the contribution of universities to urban development could be analysed from five different perspectives: 1) a cognitive perspective according to which universities contribute to the development of new fields of knowledge and new technological sectors and to the integration between tacit knowledge, which is produced at local level, and codified knowledge, which circulates at global level; the mobility of qualified human resources represents the main vector of knowledge diffusion processes; 2) an economic perspective, according to which universities are an important economic actors especially for small and medium sized cities, since they offer many highly skilled jobs; they produce a direct and indirect economic impact (from qualified research services to elementary ones connected to the use and the maintainance of structures and spaces); the scientific activity and the training of young graduates generate a context favourable to the creation of scientific spin-off companies, supported by incubators and technology transfer activities; 3) a social perspective according to which university activity involves the presence of physical and virtual facilities, such as libraries, laboratories, telematic facilities, which can have a positive impact on all urban contexts and on the cultural level of the local community; universities can therefore play a sort of a civil role, supporting the construction of places and occasions of public and pluralist debate; for instance, some studies show the relation between the presence of a university in a territorial context and the propensity of the residents to collaborate for the collective good, to partecipate actively to political events, to promote a sustainable quality of life; 4) a relational perspective according to which universities represent an important actor and can play a central role in the local networking and in the urban governance dynamics; at the same time, they guarantee the internationalization process of a territorial context, playing the role of knowledge gatekeeper, through the mobility of human resources, the circulation of knowledge through publications, conference comunications, patents; 5) a cultural perspective according to which the presence of the university leaves traces on the urban landscape, in terms of research and high-tech infrastructures and living spaces of the student population and researchers, which become visible signs and symbols of the city. The cultural perspective highlights the role of the university in relation to the construction of the urban identity and to its attitude to be open and inclusive. After describing the above mentioned perspectives, the research work presented in the paper is based on the comparison of cases of European medium sized university towns, i.e. medium sized towns in which the presence of one or more universities represents by far one the most relevant economic player. The case studies are Oxford in England, Leuven in Belgium and Pisa in Italy. In particular, the history of the relation between the university and the urban development in these towns is described, considering both material and immaterial components; the relevance of universities as actors of urban transformation, hubs for the production of knowledge as well as technological innovation, centres for new cultural and innovative projects (not only from a technological point of view) is then discussed, considering them as actors of a new urban governance as well as relevant players in international relations. We will use some quantitative data to assess and compare the economic and technological impact of the three universities and such analysis will be enriched by some qualitative evidences, obtained through interviews to opinion leaders, existing reports and sources of visual analysis used to explain the visible signs of the university presence and its significance for the urban identity. Some first results of our analysis could be summarised in these points: - The cases studies show that universities can really influence and have a positive impact on the development of med-sized towns and on their ranking in urban hierarchies; although the presence of the university is pervasive and with material marks, the relationship between university and town looks in any cases different. - Oxford is an emblematic example of academic success, but also has produced significant economic results, in terms of the impact of research activity on the entrepreneurial fabric and on the new start-up creation. Leuven is also a town strongly oriented to the production of knowledge, which has, especially in recent years, invested in exploiting the results of scientific research and in fostering the creation of spin-off companies. Spillovers are significant, although less consolidated than Oxford, which has started earlier to promote the technology trasfer, taking advantage also of the geographical proximity to London. - Undoubtedly, the University, in all three cases, is an important international gateway, especially from the scientific point of view, even if the Oxford University occupies the top positions in international rankings in comparison with the University of Pisa and the Catholic University of Leuven. About the attraction of foreign students and teachers, especially Oxford, but also Leuven, they have a very strong attraction at global level. Pisa attracts many students from Italy, especially from the Southern regions, but a much lower number of foreign students. - Concerning the economic and social impact, linked to the presence of students, the relationship between the number of students and residents is very high in all three cases, due to the good/excellent quality of teaching and to the advantageous environmental conditions. However, the retention capacity of students and the promotion of new entrepreneurship, especially in Pisa, are lower, even if significant in the Italian context. - The partecipation of universities to the urban governance is another aspect explored in our work. In Oxford and Leuven, the University is an important actor, but it doesn’t play a strategic role in the urban planning. Pisa shows a limited presence of the university in defining development vision of the city, in comparison to other experiences, such as Grenoble, where universities and urban institutions tighly collaborate to the creation of a “ville de l’innovation”. - The analysis of existing and new infrastructures and the analysis of social behaviours of university people (students, researchers, etc.) have also permitted to present a first evaluation about how universities can really contribute to the building up of a specific urban identity and to the definition of original development models based on scientific research, innovation and high-tech activities: all three case studies could be considered historic university towns for their ancient foundation and town campus, for the distribution of many old university buildings within the urban area. In conclusion, these analysis allow us to highlight also critical aspects concerning the relationship between universities and medium sized town. They made it possible to rethink the urban policies oriented to strenghthen the capacity to enhance the economic and cultural role of universities.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
