Exploring the Mechanisms of Knowledge Transfer in University-Industry Collaborations:A Study of Companies, Students and Researchers

This article discusses mechanisms, enablers and barriers for knowledge transferin university-industry collaboration projects involving companies, students andresearchers. Data is collected through 35 qualitative interviews with Danishand Norwegian representatives from the above categories. All respondents havebeen involved in collaborative projects, such as student-industry cooperation orcollaboration projects between scientists and businesses. This research showsthat to secure real value adding through knowledge transfer in universityindustrycollaboration projects, it is important that the involved parties vieweach other as equal partners. It is argued that creating a better understandingof roles and competences of the involved parties can help diminish this problem.A final conclusion is that continuous knowledge sharing throughout the projectseems more highly valued by the involved parties than a final report does. Bestpractice for collaborative projects is suggested