Towards hybrid Triple Helix indicators: A study of university-related patents and a survey of academic inventors

This paper presents work directed at capturing the entrepreneurial and collaborative activity of university researchers. The Triple Helix points to the emergence of the entrepreneurial university as well as to an increasing overlay of activities in universities, industry and government. This study explores ways in which patent-based metrics could be utilized in a Triple Helix context, and how hybrid indicators could be developed by combining patent with survey data. More specifically, it aims to develop indicators that connect technological inventiveness of university researchers to both funding organizations and users, as well as to entrepreneurial activities by academics. The paper develops a simplified model of the innovation process to benchmark the relevance of the indicators to the Triple Helix. An analysis of Finnish academic patents illustrates that patent data can already provide useful indicators but, on its own, cannot provide information about how academic patents are interconnected with government or industry through funding or utilization links. An exclusive analysis of patents can point to patent concentrations on certain universities, to inventors and assignees, or to potential gaps in translating applied science into industrial technology. However, the patent data had to be combined with an inventor survey in order to relate academic patents more to their Triple Helix environment. The survey indicated that most patented academic inventions are connected to (often publicly funded) scientific research by the inventors and tend to be utilized in large firms rather than in start-up companies founded by academic entrepreneurs.     

Going local: placing entrepreneurial microgeographies in a larger regional context

ABSTRACT

As cities seek to promote innovation, they are increasingly investing in localised institutional entrepreneurial supports. Some institutions are hyperlocal, operating within distinct geographic sub-spaces and funnelling entrepreneurial ventures within spatially bounded microgeographies. In this paper, we focus on the University of North Carolina, where actors from the business school helped build a unique web of hyperlocal entrepreneurial supports that reinforced core educational and research missions but also culminated in proximate university business incubators. We examine how this programmatic changes correspond to a marked increase in entrepreneurial intensity as well as ageographic tightening of firms in and around the campus. Yet we also find evidence for an additional effect, namely an earlier launch of entrepreneurial firms based on less-tested technologies. The results speak to the power of institutional actors in shaping entrepreneurial activities while raising broader questions about the impact of university programming on regional industry and innovation.     

For whom size matters – the interplay between incubator size,tenant characteristics and tenant growth

The present study introduces a multilevel ‘fit’ perspective on business incubation to examine the link between incubator size and tenant growth. We suggest that the effect of incubator size on tenant growth is not universally positive or negative but is contingent upon (a) the size of the tenants’ venture team and (b) whether tenants are operating in a high-tech industry. Based on data from 276 tenants hosted in 67 business incubators in Germany, multilevel analyses provide support for our hypotheses. With its findings, the present study complements earlier incubator research and expands our knowledge on which types of business incubators are best suited to facilitate venture development.     

Triple Helix innovation in China’s dye-sensitized solar cell industry: hybrid methods with semantic TRIZ and technology roadmapping

In recent years, the Triple Helix model has identified feasible approaches to measuring relations among universities, industries, and governments. Results have been extended to different databases, regions, and perspectives. This paper explores how bibliometrics and text mining can inform Triple Helix analyses. It engages Competitive Technical Intelligence concepts and methods for studies of Newly Emerging Science & Technology (NEST) in support of technology management and policy. A semantic TRIZ approach is used to assess NEST innovation patterns by associating topics (using noun phrases to address subjects and objects) and actions (via verbs). We then classify these innovation patterns by the dominant categories of origination: Academy, Industry, or Government. We then use TRIZ tags and benchmarks to locate NEST progress using Technology Roadmapping. Triple Helix inferences can then be related to the visualized patterns. We demonstrate these analyses via a case study for dye-sensitized solar cells.     

An entrepreneurial,research-based university model focused on intellectual property management for economic development in emerging economies: The case of Bogor Agricultural University,Indonesia

Higher education institutions in emerging regions of the world are increasingly expected (largely by their governments and community) to promote regional economic development and national competitiveness. This case study on one of the prominent academic universities in Indonesia – Bogor Agricultural University (Institut Pertanian Bogor, IPB) – highlights its successes and lessons learned in managing intellectual property as an entrepreneurial research-based university. This analysis of IPB provides general and specific insights for university administrators, researchers, and policy makers, especially in emerging economies, on appropriate strategies and measures in promoting synergies between research, entrepreneurialism and technology commercialization. The model provides strategies to maximize university research outputs, knowledge transfer and innovation to empower regional communities, and promote strategic and transformational partnerships, private sector engagement and economic growth opportunities for both the institution and the region.     

Sound Pressure Level in an Infant Incubator

Currently, there are a lot of infant incubators being used in hospitals in Thailand. That situation brings about the question on whether the values of physical quantities such as sound pressure or temperature inside the incubator still conform to the requirements of the international standards. The main objective of this research was to study the sound pressure level (SPL) generated within the incubator. The measurement method was based on IEC 60601-2-19:2009. There were two measurement conditions of the SPL in the infant incubator; the measurement during power-off condition and the measurement during the operation of incubator at a controlled temperature of 36 °C with a maximum humidity setting. Both measurement conditions were carried out in an empty incubator. The average values from the three measurement results of each operating incubator subtracted by the value of background noise were reported as the result of SPL generated in the incubator. The SPL results from this study were lower than 60 dBA, which are within the tolerance limit specified in IEC 60601-2-19. The estimated measurement uncertainty was lower than 1.8 dBA. This research will benefit to an investigation of hearing loss in infants possibly caused by the operation of the infant incubators in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Ultimately, this research will be a great evidence to show the NICU staffs in the hospitals in Thailand and also raise their awareness that it is important to sustain the proper maintenance and calibration of the infant incubators.     

Quintuple helix structure of Sino-Korean research collaboration in science

The Triple Helix Model has been used for science-mapping in research collaboration since the 1980s. As knowledge-producing activities have rapidly expanded and become interrelated, the triple helix framework is limited in uncovering a broader range of stakeholders and multilateral collaborative activities. In this vein, the present study employs the N-tuple Helix Model as a suitable alternative to analyze the structure of scientific collaboration networks beyond university–industry–government (UIG) relations. The networks of N-tuple Helix relations embedded in Sino-Korean research collaboration are examined in terms of five actors, such as universities, industries, governments, hospitals, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The results found that the quintuple helical network exists in Sino-Korean research collaboration. While traditional UIG actors play a pivotal role, hospital and NGO sectors emerge as new drivers for knowledge production and innovation. Each sector is significantly associated with the others and plays distinctive roles and functions. The overall findings provide new insight into a possible change in the traditional Triple Helix framework by demonstrating an alternative “five-helix model” of innovation as a new evolving structure and new dynamic of international collaboration in science.     

The Incubatees’ Perspective on Identifying Priority Enabling Factors for Technology Business Incubators

Abstract

Previous studies have identified enabling factors needed to support technology business incubatees which are usually small and medium enterprises. However, these studies were unable to draw conclusions about which enabling factor has the most impact and thus should receive the most attention. In the perspective of a developing country such as the Philippines where economic development is important, enabling factor identification is a crucial task as it provides inputs to decision-makers, policy-makers, and engineering managers in framing guidelines and directions for important activities such as resource allocation, strategic planning, prioritization of initiatives, and policy formulation. A case study was carried out at the University of the Philippines Technology Business Incubator (TBI), one of the established TBIs in the Philippines. Prioritization was performed using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). Findings suggest that on-site business expertise, the suggested ideas on situational experiences (technology/ideas), and the confidential techniques or information that would assist the incubatees (know-how) are the most relevant enabling factors for incubatees’ success. In contrast, in-kind financial support, concise program milestones with clear policies and procedures, and expert organization emerge as the least important factors. Engineering managers are crucial in addressing these top enabling factors. These would help incubators and engineering managers formulate policies to improve their operations such as attracting and retaining the best management academics and practitioners to support their incubatees. Engineering managers can support incubatees in optimization studies and engineering experiments for the efficient and effective adoption of the incubatees’ technologies. Policy-makers must also consider incentivizing private institutions and successful entrepreneurs to be involved in the incubation programs.     

Transition from the Triple Helix to N-Tuple Helices? An interview with Elias G. Carayannis and David F. J. Campbell

Given the widespread use of many digitalized communication channels, knowledge production activities have rapidly become interrelated. As the term “network society” implies, knowledge-based innovation systems have been built mainly on the mediated social infrastructure, which has lead to the emergence of the N-Tuple Helix model. I wish to contribute to this special issue by offering an interview with Prof. Dr. Elias G. Carayannis and Dr. David F. J. Campbell, the two co-authors and co-creators of the Quadruple (Government, University, Industry and Civil Society) and Quintuple (Quadruple Innovation Helix plus Environment) Innovation Helix concepts that extend, expand and complement the Triple Innovation Helix rubric. This article starts with brief background information on N-Tuple Helices and concludes with some implications for developing and transitional economies.     

Dredged material decontamination demonstration for the port of New York/New Jersey.

Management of contaminated dredged material is a significant challenge in the Port of New York and New Jersey as a result of more stringent regional ocean placement regulations with escalating costs for upland placement. One component of an overall management plan can be the application of a decontamination technology followed by creation of a product suitable for beneficial use. This concept is the focus of a project now being carried out by the US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2, the US Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, the US Department of Energy, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and regional university groups that have included Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rutgers University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Stevens Institute of Technology. The project has progressed through phased testing of commercial technologies at the bench scale (15 liters) (Marcor, Metcalf & Eddy, Gas Technology Institute, Westinghouse Science & Technology, BioGenesis, International Technology, and BioSafe) and pilot-scale (1.5-500m(3)) (BioGenesis, Gas Technology Institute, and Westinghouse Science & Technology) levels. The technologies developed by Gas Technology Institute and BioGenesis are now going forward to commercial demonstration facilities that are intended to treat from 23000 to 60000m(3) of dredged material during their first operational period in 2001-2002. Beneficial use products are soils and cement. Treatment costs for the final commercial facilities are estimated at US$ 39 per m(3). Selection of the technologies was made based on the effectiveness of the treatment process, evaluation of the possible beneficial use of the treated materials, and other factors. Major elements of the project are summarized here.     

The Triple Helix of university-industry-government relations

The Triple Helix of university-industry-government relations provides a neo-evolutionary model of the process of innovation that is amenable to measurement. Economic exchange, intellectual organization, and geographical constraints can be considered as different dynamics that interact in a knowledge-based economy as a complex system. Differentiation spans the systems of innovation, while performative integration enables organizations to retain wealth from knowledge. Because of the systematic organization of interfaces among the subsystems under study, different perspectives can be expected in the reflection. Consequences for the heuristics, the research design, and normative implications are specified and the organization of the issue is further explained.     

A Vector Space Model as a methodological approach to the Triple Helix dimensionality: A comparative study of Biology and Biomedicine Centres of two European National Research Councils from a Webometric view

The aim of this paper is to propose a Vector Space Model as a new methodological approach which allows us to present the relationships between the elements of the Triple Helix Model (University, Industry, Government) in a spacial model by using the webpages of the National Research Councils of Germany and Spain as examples. Outlinks of the Biomedicine and Biology centres of these national councils were analysed with the intention of representing graphically these relationships through the Vector Space Model that allows for Multidimensional Scaling in three dimensions. Results show a map with the differences and similarities between the Spanish and German cases. It may be concluded that these results could become a qualitative indicator of a scientific and technical reality.     

Government organizations’ innovative use of the Internet: The case of the Twitter activity of South Korea’s Ministry for Food,Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Noting the government’s role in diffusing information across various sectors of society, this study analyzes the Twitter activity of the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MFAFF), one of Korea’s government organizations. From a broad perspective, this study provides a better understanding of innovation activity mediated by social media—particularly the government’s Twitter activity, a topic that has not been addressed by previous webometric research on Triple Helix relationships—by employing social network analysis and content analysis. The results indicate some limitations of the MFAFF’s activity on Twitter as a mutual communication channel, although Twitter has the potential to facilitate risk management. Further, based on the MFAFF’s confined use of its Twitter account, the results suggest that its Twitter account can be an effective information distribution channel, indicating Twitter’s value as a communication tool for innovation activity through social media. This study provides an empirical analysis of the government’s Twitter activity and contributes to the literature by providing an in-depth understanding of the Triple Helix relationship on the Web.     

A Learning Experience: The Technology Innovation Program

The Technology Innovation Program (TIP) is a cooperative educational venture between the Department of Chemical Engineering and the School of Business at Queen's University at Kingston, Canada. First incorporated into the curriculum of senior year business and chemical engineering students in the 1994–1995 school year, TIP provides an invaluable opportunity for these students to work together in multi-disciplinary teams on real projects for industry clients. An academically rigorous exercise, TIP uses non-traditional instructional means such as problem-based learning, multi-disciplinary teams, and self-directed project work to create a learning environment paralleling that of the professional engineer or business person. Although it is still evolving, the Technology Innovation Program provides a model for other educational ventures seeking to bridge engineering and business, and to establish valuable links between the university and industry, while simultaneously easing the graduating student's transition into the workplace.     

Innovation and entrepreneurship in engineering education at MUSE

Traditionally, business schools are known to promote entrepreneurship education in their undergraduate and graduate programs. To meet the challenges due to advances in technology in the twenty-first century and entrepreneurial competition from developing nations, such as India and China, entrepreneurship programs in engineering education are being developed through grants from public and private foundations in order to promote entrepreneurial mindsets among all graduating engineers. This article highlights one such entrepreneurship engineering education program established at the Mercer University School of Engineering (MUSE) through Kern family foundation grants in 2007. What is currently being done at MUSE in promoting entrepreneurial mindsets among undergraduate and graduate students is highlighted and presented in terms of curriculum development, entrepreneurship clubs for engineering students, and entrepreneurial design projects with innovation and creativity components? This article presents the entrepreneurship engineering education curriculum in place at MUSE and a typical senior design project ‘Retrofitting of Tabletop CNC Lathe’ undertaken by senior engineering students through this program. The results obtained from this senior design project, the difficulties encountered by the student team, and the successful completion of the project are highlighted and discussed.     

Entrepreneurial university: The relationship between smart specialization innovation strategies and university-region collaboration

Addressing the effect of regional innovation strategies for smart specialization is beneficial. This study investigates the correlation between smart specialization innovation strategies and university-region collaboration. The findings of this study will help researchers and decision makers understand and strategically plan for linking education with industry and thus help create entrepreneurial universities. This paper examines the regional innovation strategies for smart specialization. The data was collected at a Croatian university. The research aims to study the effect of the link of an educational institute with industry and how that makes universities become more entrepreneurial. In our model, smart specialization is measured as an assessment of the benefits of university-regional collaboration for universities to become entrepreneurial. The results highlight that smart specialization innovation strategies are enhancing university collaboration regionally. We learn that involvement of universities is an essential ingredient.     

基于生态位模型的广东省孵化器发展水平及适宜度评价

基于生态学视角，提出孵化器生态位概念，从经济—技术—社会资源3个维度构建孵化器生态位评价指标体系，利用生态位模型，对广东省18个地市2014~2016年孵化器发展水平、发展协调度以及发展适宜度进行综合评价。结果表明：1） 孵化器具有显著的空间集聚特征，经济发达地区孵化器生态位更高；2） 广州和珠海两地孵化器社会资源生态位滞后于经济、技术生态位，社会资源是两地孵化器发展的关键“生态因子”；东莞、佛山两地孵化器技术生态位稍显不足，未来应加强孵化器技术资源的供给；粤东西北地区孵化器发展水平落后，各方资源仍有待挖掘和发展；3） 广州市孵化器发展适宜度最高，粤东西北地区孵化器发展进化动量值较大，未来发展空间广阔。     

The need to adapt sustainability audits to atypical business models

While a growing number of businesses aspire toward sustainability, doing so requires new business models that aim to achieve triple bottom line benefits (economic, environmental, and social), while utilizing appropriate technologies and new knowledge platforms for doing business. “Third Places,” defined as places of public gathering outside of work or home, have emerged as powerful platforms for business model innovation, in the form of incubators, co-working spaces, and innovation hubs. Third Places enable a diverse group of actors, including entrepreneurs, employees, and investors to informally interact and develop innovative ways of doing business. Third Places tend to be structurally more complex than traditional production facilities as they have multiple firms interacting in formal and informal ways. In this commentary, we discuss the challenges of measuring the sustainability performance of Third Places using conventional sustainability audit tools.     

Defining strategies to improve success of technology transfer efforts: An integrated tool for risk assessment

Science Based Innovation relies on effective Technology Transfer efforts. Defining strategies that increase high-technology projects success in the market is a necessary and challenging activity. This comprises elements like market uncertainty and the need for timely decision making within an environment of limited resources (economic, time, human, among others). In this context, Technology Intelligence (TI) generates useful knowledge to reduce risk and improve decision making. This work provides a tool to identify and qualitatively measure different risks; highlighted by previous TI activities. Such risks, their level and mitigation alternatives are also discussed. Furthermore, we create a simple, yet useful tool to calculate a risk score for technology projects at early stages of development. This tool was developed in a Technology Transfer Office to foster the development of entrepreneurial ventures.     

Productivity analysis of research in Natural Sciences, Technology and Clinical Medicine: an input–output model applied in comparison of Top 300 ranked universities of 4 North European and 4 East Asian countries

The article introduces a relational input–output model for the productivity analysis of university research. The comparative analyses focus on top university research in hard sciences from 4 East Asian countries (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan) and 4 North European countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden), universities of which get altogether 95 recognitions in the HEEACT Top 300 rankings in the Natural Sciences (Sci), Technology (Tec) or Clinical Medicine (Med). According to productivity ratings (A₀, A, A⁺, A⁺⁺), Taiwan receives 10 A⁺⁺ ratings (Sci 5, Tec 5), Sweden 9 (Sci 4, Med 4, Tec 1) and Hong Kong 9 (Tec 4, Med 2, Sci 1). The smallest numbers of A⁺⁺ ratings are found in Norway, 1 (Med) and Finland 3 (all in Med). The only university with an A⁺⁺ rating in the top of all three fields is the National University of Singapore. The Pohang University of Science and Technology (South Korea) and the National Tsing Hua University (Taiwan) are exceptionally productive in Sci and Tec; Karolinska Institutet (Sweden) and the University of Helsinki (Finland) belong to the top in Med. Even though Northern European countries are ranked higher in the ‘knowledge economy indicators’, East Asians fare better by indicators of learning outcomes and by productivity of university research in Natural Sciences and Technology; North European countries are stronger in Clinical Medicine.