"University - Enterprise Cooperation" in Biosystems Engineering: an ERABEE Thematic Network European survey

This survey was carried out through the data analysis of the “University-Enterprise Cooperation” questionnaire, which was developed and distributed to all the partners of the EU funded ERABEE-TN . 37 industries involved in the area of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (i.e. industries of machines, equipment and materials for agriculture, food processing industries, companies of renewable energy systems and services for agriculture and environment) from 13 European countries replied to this questionnaire. The most significant result of this survey is the importance given to the cooperation between Universities and enterprises specialised in Biosystems Engineering. In fact, the majority (60%) of the enterprises is available to employ highly specialised graduates (M.Sc.) and/or post-graduates (PhD). Moreover, almost all the enterprises aim at a higher involvement in the development and/or restructuring of degree study programs. They believe that the entrepreneurial spirit must be developed within the University itself. Some replies demonstrate that the enterprises aim at an easier and faster transfer of knowledge from University to industry and vice versa and at a permanent route of dialogue with the Universities. One way for satisfying the demand of cooperation by the industries could be a network project, aimed at funding the exchange of human resources (especially M.Sc. and PhD students, and enterprise staff) between the Universities and the enterprises. The encouraging results obtained suggest the need of addressing this survey to a higher number of industries, including the relevant ones from the missing EU countries. The results of this survey are to be widely disseminated to all the stakeholders involved in the area of Biosystems Engineering (i.e. Universities, enterprises, research centres, national associations of agronomists and agricultural engineers, Ministries of Education, Agricultural Politics and Industry), in order to facilitate, at a European level, the transition from the traditional Agricultural Engineering discipline to the emerging Biosystems Engineering one and its better exploitation by all parties involved, including graduates and enterprises