Spin-off companies are generally considered a promising vehicle for developing academic knowledge into products that are ready for the market. In this paper the authors explore under what circumstances spin-off companies can serve as a source of knowledge for the research organization from which they originate. The paper brings together literature…

Against the backdrop of an increasingly interconnected world as well as the growing role of inter- and supranational organizations, policy transfer has become a widespread phenomenon, not least in the realm of education. While policy transfer research has focused predominantly on isolated education sectors, less is known about the overall…

Potentially, technology transfer offices (TTOs) can play a significant role in facilitating the successful transfer of technologies and knowledge between universities and industry. Many developing countries are currently developing technology transfer practices within their universities. However, many developing country TTOs operate inefficiently…

As the German vocational education and training (VET) system, with its dual learning environment in both firms and vocational schools, is an international benchmark, many concepts and projects are aiming to transfer this approach to other countries and education systems. In such contexts, it is important to consider the specific concepts and…

This paper explains how heating and ventilation systems as technical artefacts shaped the historical meaning of Swiss school buildings between 1830 and 1930 by analysing official and legal documents, sources regarding the World Exhibitions, and minutes at the Zurich cantonal and city archives. It exposes the theoretical assumptions of heating and…

Following a pause, with a relatively flat rate, from 1998 to 2008, the long-term trend of university patenting rising as a share of all patenting has resumed, driven by the internationalization of academic entrepreneurship and the persistence of US university technology transfer. The authors disaggregate this recent growth in university patenting…

Globally, governments recognize the importance of creativity and innovation for sustainable socioeconomic development, and many invest resources to develop learning environments that foster these capacities. This paper provides a systematic framework based on Nair's "Innovation Helix" model for studying the factors of a country's…

It is a surprising fact that social work is not conceived as a scientific discipline in many countries and especially in the United States. It is surprising because the extent of academic social work programs and the scientific output of people working at schools of social work are significant. And it is surprising anyway if social work is…

In times of increasing skills shortage, regions and particularly non-core regions, need to attract highly-skilled workers. It is better for these regions to (re)attract highly-skilled workers that gained knowledge and contacts elsewhere and because they once lived in the region for study have already ties to the university region than trying to…

In search of increased support for graduate students in plant science and upgraded laboratories, the College of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California Berkeley, offered the college's expertise in exchange for major financial backing from the single company making the best offer. The resulting five-year, $25-million alliance with one…

This discussion of the use of audiovisual instruction in the health sciences emphasizes the importance of instructional effectiveness and describes such activities of the media center of the Vaud University Hospital (Switzerland) as instructional development and training of media users, including World Health Organization (WHO) fellows. Eight…

Organizational aspects and implementation of Switzerland's national research program that promote goal-oriented research in the service of the general public are described. The Federal Council of Switzerland decides on the topics to be researched and the National Fund is responsible for carrying out the programs. (Author/SF)

The first part of this report examines the relationship of technological change to employment and work. After a brief introduction, chapter 1 discusses new technology and labor productivity versus employment, emphasizing the effects of labor-saving machinery and changes in specific sectors of employment, such as electrical machinery,…

This report aims to inform Canadians on the extent to which Canada's post-secondary education sector is contributing to Canadians' social and economic objectives, its ability to respond to a fast-changing global environment, and how Canada's approach to higher education compares with other leading developed countries. Analysis of currently…

The relationships between industry and higher education in Switzerland, involving two federal polytechnics and financed directly by the government, are described, including characteristics and intensity of the relationships, training, consultation and other services, exchange agreements, and the issue of patents. The two specific polytechnic…