nowEurope

The phenomenon of technology transfer has become increasingly important for the economic and social development in the European regions. The critical issue is connecting those who produce knowledge and those who might be in the need of it. What is required is to build a meeting place between enterprises and universities, as well as other public R&D centers.

When it comes to catalyzing innovation within the sphere of SME (small and medium enterprises), the aspect of regionality appears to be the most essential. These small companies cannot afford to launch their own exclusive research, but on the other hand they can launch a productive and fruitful cooperation with local universities and R&D centers.

Based on the experiences from the ten-years existence of the knowledge transfer center in the Graz region of Austria, we can divide the companies into three segments based on their aptitude to join and profit from the regional knowledge centers.

The first group could be called Innovation elites. Innovation elites are those companies that have successfully realized their innovation potential and display continuing interest in more innovations.

The second group could be called Ready-to-innovate. These are the companies feeling an opportunity in implementing new locally produced innovations and technological improvements; however they have not yet done so. This is key target segment for someone who envisages to set up a regional innovation center.

The third group, which might require the most effort in the frame of marketing-communication could be named the Conservatives, hence the companies that from the technological point of view, dispose of an innovation potential, however they fail to identify the opportunity offered by the locally produced innovations.

In many regions the transfer of locally produced innovations into the regional production capacities is sporadic and occasional. However, if we consider all the wide range of potential benefits, should it be within the economic or social sphere, the need is evident to establish more efficient and more consistent mechanisms for innovation transfer. Hence, the platform for Active Knowledge Transfer in Graz with its more than a decade of experiences could serve as a valuable resource of inspiration.