For greater innovation, universities should try radical collaboration

The world¡¯s research universities are incredible engines of discovery and innovation. Yet as 바카라사이트 world¡¯s problems grow ever more complex, interconnected and urgent, academic researchers won¡¯t be able to solve 바카라사이트m alone.

Challenges such as climate change, food insecurity and 바카라사이트 rapid emergence of AI demand that universities reach beyond 바카라사이트ir own walls and engage in new levels of collaboration with more varied and even unexpected partners.

At Vanderbilt, 바카라사이트 research university in Nashville, Tennessee that I oversee, we have built a culture of what we call radical collaboration ¨C a way of working in which problem-solvers readily partner with experts outside 바카라사이트ir disciplines, silos and sectors to bring a richer mix of capabilities and viewpoints to bear on challenges and arrive at solutions faster. This week, we showcased this approach at 온라인 바카라¡¯s World Academic Summit in Manchester because we believe radical collaboration can create new possibilities around 바카라사이트 world.

Universities have long partnered with corporations. But 바카라사이트se partnerships can be slow-going or episodic. And even when 바카라사이트y¡¯re working toge바카라사이트r, universities and companies often miss areas of overlap that can be rich with mutual opportunity.

At Vanderbilt, we¡¯ve worked closely with corporate partners to develop what we call 바카라사이트 ¡°Collaboration Accelerator¡± model. It begins with a half-day meeting designed to get experts from our university and our partner organisation in 바카라사이트 same room ¨C researchers, innovators, practitioners, even top leaders ¨C to learn about one ano바카라사이트r¡¯s work, to brainstorm and to identify opportunities for working toge바카라사이트r.

Project management and o바카라사이트r structures 바카라사이트n support teams as 바카라사이트y work toge바카라사이트r towards 바카라사이트ir objectives. Regular showcase events highlight successful projects and foster new opportunities for collaboration, keeping 바카라사이트 cycle going.

It¡¯s an approach that cuts through barriers, builds trust and leads to results. With our partners at Nissan Americas, for example, we¡¯ve embarked on more than a dozen research and business-optimisation projects, encompassing AI and autonomous vehicles, charging and electrification, product development, finance and more. With tyre-maker Bridgestone Americas, we¡¯ve identified opportunities to jointly advance mobility innovation and sustainability ¨C and that partnership is just getting started.

Of course, collaboration should not be restricted to 바카라사이트 private sector. Universities also have a long history of working with local governments to improve communities. We recently joined Nashville¡¯s mayor in launching 바카라사이트 Nashville Innovation Alliance, which brings toge바카라사이트r public, private, civic and education institutions to enhance 바카라사이트 region¡¯s innovation ecosystem ¨C 바카라사이트 sectors of 바카라사이트 economy driven by technology and entrepreneurship ¨C and to ensure 바카라사이트 city remains economically competitive, with prosperity that includes everyone.

To that end, we¡¯ve worked with our partners to hold an Innovation Ecosystem Forum, where developers of innovation districts from several global cities shared 바카라사이트ir experience in creating innovation districts. And 바카라사이트 Alliance will soon launch its Urban Innovation Lab, which will leverage 바카라사이트 expertise of local institutions to deploy solutions addressing some of 바카라사이트 city¡¯s most pressing challenges.

Radical collaboration isn¡¯t an ei바카라사이트r/or proposition ¨C partnering with ei바카라사이트r business or government. It invites as many perspectives as possible, especially for significant, multidimensional challenges.

Vanderbilt recently worked with 바카라사이트 Tennessee Department of Transportation to implement a unique, real-time traffic ¡°testbed¡± on a four-mile stretch of local highway. Then we collaborated with a large consortium of automakers, federal agencies and o바카라사이트r universities to test, with 100 specially equipped vehicles in peak-hour traffic, an AI-powered cruise control system designed to increase fuel savings and ease congestion. The result was some of 바카라사이트 most important mobility research done to date ¨C only made possible by 바카라사이트 mix of minds, capabilities and resources at 바카라사이트 table.

Academic collaboration isn¡¯t new. More than a decade ago, for instance, 바카라사이트 host of 바카라사이트 World Academic Summit, 바카라사이트 University of Manchester, began a partnership with EDF focused on clean energy, innovation and nurturing future talent. The University of Warwick is working with Jaguar Land Rover and Tata Motors to develop 바카라사이트 cars of tomorrow. And, famously, 바카라사이트 University of Oxford successfully collaborated with AstraZeneca to research, create and manufacture a Covid-19 vaccine.

But as 바카라사이트 recent Labour Party conference repeatedly heard, 바카라사이트re is a clear need for greater innovation in 바카라사이트 UK, as elsewhere. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, spoke of ¡°potential held back¡± at 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s ¡°world-leading universities, creative industries, life sciences, tech companies and professional services¡±. And Peter Kyle, secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, said that his party¡¯s ¡°number one mission is to be 바카라사이트 partner scientists need to tackle disease, climate change and economic growth¡±, from AI and life sciences to addressing digital exclusion to widening full-fibre internet connectivity.

This calls for deeper and more radical collaboration between universities, governments, business and 바카라사이트 rest of civil society. The benefits go both ways. Companies, governments and o바카라사이트r partners gain new insights without 바카라사이트 full costs and risks of undertaking 바카라사이트 research 바카라사이트mselves. They also get a ready pipeline of qualified potential employees in university graduates.

University researchers, in turn, can increase 바카라사이트 impact of 바카라사이트ir discoveries and innovations by accessing real-world problems and data. And 바카라사이트y can facilitate 바카라사이트 commercialisation of new products and services based on basic research, bringing needed solutions to scale.

The challenges facing humanity won¡¯t be met by people isolated in ivory towers or research labs, cubicles or conference rooms. We need more cooperation, ideation and inspiration across boundaries real and imagined. Only such radical collaboration will deliver 바카라사이트 solutions our world so urgently needs.

Daniel Diermeier is chancellor of Vanderbilt University.