Vadym Popko is a professor of the Department of Comparative and European Law of the Educational and Research Institute of  the International Relations of Kyiv Taras Shevchenko National University

 

At the end of February this year, it became known that 7-8 higher education institutions are to be merged in Ukraine this year. The process launched as part of the higher education reform aims to improve the funding system and enhance the quality of education. The key aspect in this context is how well the merger process is synchronised with the short- and long-term development strategy of higher education in general, as well as with the development strategies of the higher education institutions themselves.

That is why I would like to start a discussion today about the prospects for transforming universities and institutes into city- and region-forming intellectual centres of attraction. Moreover, this vision fits into the "University 3.0" model - a combination of education, science and innovative entrepreneurship - and the role of such universities in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.

Background

There are several concepts regarding the concept of "University 3.0". Some researchers insist that it dates back to the end of the eleventh century, when the first universities appeared in Europe - Bologna (1088) and Oxford (1096). At that time, their main mission was to provide broader knowledge to theologians and clergy. The training was built on a workshop basis - building and increasing the "caste" of theologians. Proponents of this theory classify such universities as "University 1.0". Their functionality was limited to the usual transfer of knowledge.

"Universities 2.0" - classical universities, or "Humboldt universities" - appeared in the nineteenth century with the establishment of the University of Berlin in 1810. Their mission was to provide students with comprehensive knowledge and educate a developed personality. The principle of combining education and science was implemented on the basis of such universities.

At the turn of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, experts drew attention to the fact that advanced universities have become not only centres of education and science, but also centres of innovation. Henry Etzkowitz and Loet Leydesdorff in their "Triple Helix" model describe the dynamics of interaction between three stakeholders: university-state-industry in the context of economic and innovative development (University 3.0). Since this model appeared about 30 years ago, today I would not talk about industry, but about business as a component of this spiral. In my opinion, this is definitely a more relevant definition.

"Triple Helix thinking is based on the concept of the second academic revolution. The first academic revolution gave universities a new research mission, turning them into knowledge-producing and knowledge-disseminating institutions. The second broadened the university's mission to include the promotion of economic and social development. The university has become a primary social institution, on a par with government and industry, leading to a knowledge-based economy and society," writes Etzkowitz.

According to other experts, the emergence of the "University 3.0" model is based on the evolution of higher education institutions in the twentieth century. It suggests that after the Second World War, higher education became widespread, particularly in the United States and later in Europe. Among other things, this was the result of the introduction of benefits for veterans who wanted to obtain higher education (grants for education, covering living expenses, loans, etc.). In the US, companies that invested in veterans emerged after the war, such as the American Corporation for Researches and Developments, which was based on venture capital as a new organisational form. The driving force behind the company was Ralph Flanders, president of the Boston branch of the Federal Reserve Bank, members of the board of trustees of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and professors from Harvard Business School. Here is how Flanders justified the idea of creating the company:

"I am concerned that the liquid wealth of the nation tends to be concentrated in a few hands. This is a natural process, but over time it becomes increasingly difficult to finance new ventures. America's post-war prosperity depends to a large extent on finding financial support for a relatively small percentage of new ideas and developments, as well as raising the standard of living of the American people. We cannot indefinitely rely on the entrepreneurship and vision of previous generations. To make sure we are in a growing economy, not a static or frozen economy, we need to have a sufficient level of new business emergence."

In my opinion, Flanders' vision is very much in line with the challenges that we, as Ukrainians, have faced and will face in the post-war reconstruction.

Success stories

University of Cambridge. Everyone has heard of the American "Silicon Valley", but few people know that 10 years before it appeared in Europe, a similar cluster already existed – "Silicon Fen".  The name comes from the historical name of the area around the University of Cambridge. More than 250 years ago, the local marshes were drained and the area was called Fenland. Back in the early 60s of the last century, the county of Cambridgeshire was one of the poorest in Great Britain, but in 10-15 years, everything changed radically - from an agricultural region it turned into a centre of education, science and technology. This is largely thanks to two Cambridge graduates, Tim Aylworth and David Southward, who founded Cambridge Consultants in 1960. They formulated their mission as follows: "To apply the brainpower of the University of Cambridge to the problems of British industry".

Later, the Cambridge Science Park was created in 1970. Today it has more than 170 resident high-tech companies, including world leaders in IT, medicine, industry, etc: AMD, Microsoft, Toshiba, Beko, Bayer, AstraZeneca, and others.

In 1987, the St John's Innovation Centre was established with a mission to help start-ups and companies grow and succeed.

In other words, over the course of 25 years, a full-fledged cluster combining education, science, research, innovation, and business was created, which developed so successfully that in the 1980s it was already called the Cambridge phenomenon. Today, the cluster includes more than 1,000 world-leading companies and 40,000 highly skilled professionals (both local and foreign), and generates £18 billion in total revenue annually.

Here is how the future of the Cambridge phenomenon is being formulated today: "Humanity faces a number of global challenges - climate change, education, energy, food, health, security and water. None of these problems can be solved by any one science or, for that matter, by science alone. The solutions must be interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary, encompassing science, technology, engineering, economics, politics, industry and trade."

There's no arguing with that.

Finland has a similar, but, in my opinion, more interesting and relevant experience for Ukraine. Back in 2007, the Government of this country adopted a five-year development plan "Education and Research". Within the framework of the document, higher education institutions under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education and Science were assigned one of the key roles in the implementation of the National Innovation Strategy. It meant that universities had to pay special attention to research and innovation and become a link between academia and industry (read: business).

A very interesting example is Aalto University in Helsinki. Established in 2010 through the merger of three higher education institutions (Helsinki University of Technology, Helsinki School of Economics and Helsinki University of Art and Design), today it specialises in interdisciplinary education and focuses on innovation and business.

It's been 15 years since Aalto was founded, but today the university is ranked 8th in the international rankings for such disciplines as architecture and design, 53rd in the Times Higher Education World rankings, and is among the world's top 100 universities in several other disciplines. In general, Aalto focuses on three integrative interdisciplinary areas: advanced energy solutions, health and well-being, and human-centred living environments.

But Aalto University is not just about education. It is also about services, research and innovation. It is about supporting start-ups, for example, such as ICEYE - satellite technologies for monitoring the earth's surface, IQM - software solutions for next-generation quantum processors, and others. We should also mention the commercialisation of inventions and start-ups. The technology transfer process in Aalto is designed to shorten the path of innovations to the market as much as possible, to quickly go through all stages of commercialisation: from innovation to the creation of a new small or medium-sized enterprise.

The university is supported by the state agency Business Finland, which promotes investment, stimulates and finances innovation, and attracts talent. In particular, the agency finances university research projects, start-ups and innovation initiatives, and helps to attract partners and investors. In general, cooperation between Aalto and Business Finland focuses on areas such as sustainable development, modern technologies, and digitalisation.

One of the successful examples is The University of Eastern Finland, established in 2010. This was preceded by the merger of two universities - Joensuu and Kuopio - and today the University of Eastern Finland is a place in the TOP 500 of the Times Higher Education World ranking, 535th place in the QS World University Rankings, 16000 students, more than 100 disciplines studied at four faculties, two campuses, research, innovation and much more.

The University of Eastern Finland has literally become a driver of regional development through various initiatives and projects focused on education, economic growth and innovation.  The projects are implemented with the participation of the European Social Fund and the European Regional Development Fund. The partnership resulted, for example, in the opening of a gene therapy production plant by FinVector at the Kuopio campus. Today, this partnership brings together more than 500 specialists, researchers, and experts, which, in turn, attracts young talents from all over the world. The university also cooperates with local companies in the forestry industry, which is one of the main industries for the region's economy.

The university is very responsive to the needs of the regional economy. Realising that Eastern Finland will face a labour shortage as early as 2030, the institution is implementing projects to attract international students, such as the Talent Hub Eastern Finland platform. This network brings together the main educational service providers in the region and connects international students with local employers, offering support and specific tools for recruitment, adaptation, learning Finnish in the workplace.

I cited the examples of two Finnish universities for a reason - they were created by merging after the adoption of the above-mentioned plan and the "Law on Universities", adopted in 2009, which, in particular, aimed to accelerate and scale up independent research, expanded the autonomy of higher education institutions, and reformed the financing system (universities were given the opportunity to manage their own finances, own property, and engage in entrepreneurial activities). In other words, the Plan and the Law became catalysts for the reform of higher education in Finland. After their adoption, the institutions began the process of merging and turned into full-fledged clusters that combine everything that is inherent in the "University 3.0" model.

In fact, we should strive for such results in Ukraine - when a new Ukrainian university not only provides world-class educational services but is part of an effective partnership with business, government, and society. When higher education institutions conduct research, create new innovative businesses, become centres of regional development, and shape a sustainable future together with communities. How realistic is this?

University 3.0: Ukrainian perspectives

The transformation of our universities into qualitatively new, modern higher education institutions that meet the "University 3.0" model will require significant efforts on the part of the state, particularly in the legislative sphere.

Firstly, it is necessary to pursue the course of strengthening the administrative and financial autonomy of higher education institutions to ensure their "flexibility" in the conditions of the modern world, which is constantly changing. This may take the form of additional tools for establishing partnerships with the public and private sectors.

Secondly, it is necessary to increase funding for research and innovation, as well as to introduce incentives for universities to scale up cooperation with businesses, local communities and society as a whole. In turn, the state could introduce tax incentives and benefits for businesses that cooperate with universities, invest in research, technology and start-ups. In fact, the state itself could finance or co-finance socially important research and start-ups, competing with business. It would be useful to create a national ranking for higher education institutions for successful cooperation with business.

Thirdly, in cooperation with universities and businesses, develop mechanisms for commercialising research and creating university-based start-ups - from research to enterprise creation. This will require the creation of a separate infrastructure consisting of information centres, thematic seminars and workshops, business incubators, start-up and innovation centres.

Government relations (GR) and business should become separate areas of work for vice-rectors of higher education institutions. This will ensure successful advocacy of the interests of universities, strengthen partnership with society, ensure that the priorities of higher education institutions are in line with national and regional development strategies, etc. As for business, such a counter-movement would open up new opportunities for research and technology transfer, help meet current labour market needs, and improve the culture of fundraising and attracting additional funding. A step that would strengthen interaction with business would be to introduce a separate position of career adviser. A specialist who knows the needs of the labour market and takes into account all the trends will help guide applicants and students in achieving their career goals.

It is also important to scale up interdisciplinary research as a tool for solving complex problems. Specialists and experts working at the intersection of disciplines can offer a new vision that is more relevant than traditional approaches. Integrated solutions that are the product of interdisciplinary research can significantly accelerate the overcoming of existing challenges.

Time is the main resource. And it will always be in short supply. That is why we also need to talk about the de-bureaucratisation of higher education - from the procedure for introducing new disciplines to the administrative burden on teaching staff. Deregulation and transparency are the factors that should be fundamental in the process of reforming the sector.

In fact, the role of universities in post-war reconstruction cannot be overestimated, as it is highly qualified and competent young professionals who will determine not only the speed with which we will overcome the path of reconstruction, but also the quality of the reconstruction itself. But it is already clear that today it is not enough to speak of universities as mere educational centres. Their role in the post-war reconstruction will be significant in such areas as innovative entrepreneurship, regional development, local community development, social integration, strengthening international cooperation, etc. And when we talk about the reform of higher education, I would like to hear more about this.