Building relationships between education and business as a determinant of the innovative university model

Abstract

The author discusses the problem of building relations and cooperation between business and research entities, which, as of today, operate separately rather than symbiotically. She also points out the importance of establishing cooperation relations referred to as innovation alliances. In various publications one can find numerous theories about the need for cooperation between these two groups, which have been confirmed in practice. Well-known specialists and researchers analyzing this issue suggest transformation of the existing way of functioning into an open, innovative model, based on cooperation and use of mutual resources. In such alliances, the most important is an additional intellectual value or a value resulting from cooperation. In Poland, one observes dynamic changes both in the area of economy and educational system. Conditions created by the present knowledge-based economy stimulate development of networking and knowledge transfer between various organizations. All actions are aimed at creation of a friendly environment, referred to as pro-innovative for the functioning of an organization, which, in the long run, can reduce the gap between our country and the most developed ones. In practice, there are more and more cooperation initiatives of scientific units and companies, yet, they are not always successful (a so called failed partnership) due to numerous de-motivating factors. The article presents cooperation barriers resulting both from market conditions and internal factors dependent on a given entity.