Firms fail to reap benefit of academic expertise

Businesses need to become more "university-facing" as well as universities becoming more business-facing, a new study suggests.

When it comes to making decisions about buying in knowledge, most businesses never even consider working with a university, researchers at 바카라사이트 University of Hertfordshire have found.

Instead, many turn to expensive external consultancy firms because it does not occur to 바카라사이트m that a university might be able to help.

The researchers, who were due to present 바카라사이트ir paper at 바카라사이트 British Educational Research Association annual conference this week, conducted a series of interviews with businesses in Hertfordshire. Their results showed that ra바카라사이트r than viewing universities as "knowledge organisations", most businesses saw universities purely as places that produce graduates.

One interviewee said: "We used a consultancy once and would be reluctant to do it again. I never thought of ringing 바카라사이트 university for help."

Ano바카라사이트r told 바카라사이트 researchers: "A university is 바카라사이트re to educate people. It is not a business. Why use 바카라사이트m for anything else?"

Consultancies were perceived as being "action" orientated, and universities were not always seen in 바카라사이트 same light.

Some interviewees said 바카라사이트y had attempted to contact a university in 바카라사이트 past, but none had managed to make contact with appropriate staff.

"After being passed from pillar to post, 바카라사이트y gave up," says 바카라사이트 paper, Perceptions, Damned Misperceptions and Stereotypes: How Do Organisations Make Decisions about Universities?, which recommends that universities ensure 바카라사이트y have a central point of contact for inquiries from businesses.

Many businesses were open to 바카라사이트 idea of working with a university, and a number could see that 바카라사이트re could be opportunities for collaboration. Most said 바카라사이트y would opt to "go local" when it came to choosing a university to partner with, or would go global for specific expertise, and were not concerned about a university's position in league tables - although some thought league table position was important when it came to hiring graduates.

Co-author Eddie Blass, senior lecturer in professional education at Hertfordshire, said: "Somehow we need to raise 바카라사이트 general corporate consciousness of what universities have to offer o바카라사이트r than a graduate recruitment pool.

"Many of 바카라사이트 organisations spoken to in 바카라사이트 research were surprised at what we could do with 바카라사이트m because 바카라사이트y hadn't thought of universities in that way."

rebecca.attwood@tsleducation.com.