Thematic University-Business Forum

Universities and Businesses: Building Euroregional Ecosystems
Donostia – San Sebastián, 18 – 19 October 2016

Physical proximity, which enables regular face-to-face communication, is a key factor that builds up the trust necessary for knowledge exchange, interactive learning, collaboration and innovation. Trans-border collaborations and interactions provide the ideal environment for building up rich innovation ecosystems, since they sustain a carefully calibrated balance in which innovation partners are sufficiently similar and geographically close to be able to communicate effectively, but sufficiently different to carry some novel knowledge.

This Thematic University-Business Forum focuses on the Euro-regional perspective for trans-border university-business cooperation under joint strategies of border-regions’ development, for which the ‘Basque Country – Nouvelle Aquitaine Euro-region’ can pose tangible examples of responsible, durable and fruitful partnerships to promote knowledge and innovation ecosystems involving universities, companies, public administration bodies, and society at large.

Furthermore, the Thematic University-Business Forum will take place in Donostia-San Sebastián, taking advantage of the international opportunity the city offers in 2016 as European Capital of Culture. This will be an opportunity and the best scenario to share knowledge and tackle creative and cultural entrepreneurship, as well as University-Business Cooperation in a cultural/heritage context, as one of the main focus on the Forum. At the same time, the Forum will also consider the Civic Business system developed in the Basque Country as a model that contributes special features to the debate in University-Business Cooperation and its impact in regional development.

This Forum is a joint effort of the European Commission and the Basque Government with the collaboration of the Universities in the Basque Country and their partner Universities in Aquitaine, Euskampus Foundation, the Basque business Federation and the City of Donostia-San Sebastián. It provides a unique opportunity to share examples from the joint Euro-region of Basque Country and the Nouvelle Aquitaine and other regions and countries, discuss common issues and present good practices, and explore new pathways for University-Business Cooperation. The Forum is directed to representatives from higher education institutions, companies, business associations, science and technology transfer organizations, culture entrepreneurship incubators, and public administrations.

Donostia-San Sebastian, as European Cultural capital and a trans-border symbol, is the ideal place to network and bring together universities and business actors for future, responsible cooperation in cultural contexts and from a Euro-regional perspective.

The Forum will be organized around plenary keynote presentations and panel discussions, and three breakout sessions focusing on trans-border University-Business Cooperation, Cultural Entrepreneurship, and the role of University-Business Cooperation in urban, territorial and regional development.

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