University-Industry Linkages in Metropolitan Areas in Asia

Universities as an axis for the urban economy are attracting a great deal of interest in middle and upper-income economies in Eastern and Southern Asia. In these regions, growing integration with the leading global industries coincides with rapid urbanization and a dramatic re-scaling of economic activity. However, research that could guide university development and supportive metropolitan as well as national policies in Asia is very thin, despite the fact that clusters of innovative activities have sprung up in China, India, Korea, Malaysia, and Taiwan (China).

This research project studied how universities could participate in a development strategy based on innovation and knowledge-intensive activities when pressure on urban economies is especially severe. The study identified the likely effects of different policies and institutional mechanisms for promoting successful university-industry linkages in Asia and maximizing the spillovers from universities. The project primarily relied on detailed interviews of representatives of firms, universities, and municipal authorities; quantitative data on innovation outputs by universities (published papers and patents); the performance of firms linked to universities; and material drawn from the academic literature.

The project findings indicate that the leading universities and research institutions in Asia are likely to increase their linkages with industry. Similarly, Asian firms are finding that. in-house research is insufficient even for the largest corporations. Contracting out research to universities, entering into alliances with research institutes, and collaborating with university researchers can confer substantial advantages.

The project’s case studies of countries and urban centers highlighted problems as well as innovative guidance on policies for remedying them. Thus, the study hoped to inform World Bank policy dialogues with member countries on the tertiary education sector and technology development.

The project sparked wide interest in the World Bank. A similar study has been launched on countries in Sub-Saharan African. In addition, the idea of innovation activities in core urban areas was included in the report on Thailand’s Knowledge Economy and similar work has been requested by the authorities in Malaysia and Thailand.