Tertiary Education in place-based transformative innovation

"Debates upon the place-based dynamics of transformative innovation insist upon directionality across regional, national and EU innovation policies and ecosystems, and multi-actor, -funding and -sector synergies. The potential role and contribution of higher education to boost Europe’s competitiveness is reflected across numerous EU policy initiatives that seek to strengthen their entrepreneurial and innovative capacity and their integration into transformative territorial innovation, recognising the interaction between innovation and education policies, both locally and transnationally, as key in maximising capabilities.The engagement of education actors and the nature of skills and human capital requirements will be context-specific or place-based, varying depending not only on the specific territorial challenge and reality, but also the capacity, experience, culture, governance and incentives of different higher education systems and individual institutions. An understanding of the ecosystem and its various constituent parts and their inter-connections, including that of the entire education and innovation system within the broader organisational and policy context, is vital in ensuring directionality and alignment of multiple actors and functions. Frameworks for reflection and pathways for action for higher education within place-based transformative innovation have therefore been proposed, to support higher education and other territorial actors to re-think their activities and portfolio in relation to the changing educational and innovation paradigms and to support and drive systemic transformation."