A new €3.7m project will see seven European universities investigate the role higher education facilities have to play in pushing innovation and regional development.
The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Spain will join six other universities on a four year project into the role of universities in innovation and regional development.
The project forms part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Training Network programme and the European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU) network.
It will have a budget of €3.7m and will see the University of Stavanger (UiS) in Norway co-ordinate the project.
Also involved is Aalborg University, Denmark; University of Lincoln, UK; the University of Twente, the Netherlands; Linköping University, Sweden; and the University of Aveiro, Portugal.
Nine firms will work alongside the seven universities from seven European countries on the Role of Universities in Innovation and Regional Development (RUNIN) project. It aims to prepare international research on regional innovation and the role universities play in developing and growing a region.
It is also hoped the RUNIN project will strengthen ties between ECIU members, as well as push their presence in their respective regions.
