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Doctoral education in the entrepreneurial university: enhanced employability?
Linköping University, Department of Management and Engineering, Project Innovations and Entrepreneurship. Linköping University, Faculty of Science & Engineering. Linköping University, HELIX Competence Centre.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1188-4422
2020 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

This dissertation explores the issue of employability of doctorate holders through the theoretical lens of the model of the entrepreneurial university. It starts from the observation that there is a bottleneck in the academic labour market in many countries, making it increasingly difficult for recent doctoral graduates to engage in an academic career. Traditionally, doctoral education was designed for a career in academia; but the employment situations of doctorate holders call for more relevance of doctoral education and doctoral-level skills on the non-academic labour market. The main argument of this dissertation is that the openness and the interactions of the entrepreneurial university with its environment, in particular its region, makes it a relevant model to enhance the employability of doctorate holders outside academia. The thesis is based on five publications written either solely by the author or in collaboration with other scholars, mostly case studies compiling both qualitative and quantitative data and approaches.

Three main findings can be highlighted from the research: (i) the entrepreneurial university increases its socioeconomic impact by building an alignment with regional stakeholders over the years and thanks to key individuals, by retaining human and social capital within itself and by broadening the scope of its activities and stakeholders; (ii) doctorate holders’ employability is key in the entrepreneurial university’s regional socioeconomic impact, as they are increasingly employed outside academia but are likely to experience job mismatches in this situation, mainly related to education and skills; (iii) regional stakeholders can take different types of initiatives to enhance the employability of doctorate holders, and increase the entrepreneurial university’s socioeconomic impact: more specifically, doctorate holders and non-academic employers can get to know each other better; intermediaries such as Science Parks can support them through the creation of meeting places.

The dissertation contributes to the literature on the entrepreneurial university by focusing on the population of doctoral students and doctorate holders, at the crossroads of its three missions (education, research and ‘third mission’). It also suggests the following main recommendations: to universities, beyond adapting the content of doctoral education to the needs of non-academic employers, put emphasis on marketing it to them, so that they understand what it is worth; to doctorate holders, expand their knowledge of career possibilities, and behave entrepreneurially by initiating activities to complement what could be missing in their education; to non-academic employers, collaborate with universities and communicate their needs to them to influence the design of curricula.

Abstract [sv]

Avhandlingen undersöker anställningsbarheten för en disputerad person med teoretisk utgångspunkt i en modell av det entreprenöriella universitetet. I de flesta länder är det svårt för nyexaminerade doktorer att komma in på arbetsmarknaden, inte minst för dem som vill fortsätta inom akademin. Traditionellt är en doktorandutbildning utformad för en fortsatt karriär inom akademin, men på grund av de begränsade möjligheterna på arbetsmarknaden krävs doktorandutbildningar med större relevans och som även ger färdigheter inför en icke akademisk karriär. Huvudtesen i denna avhandling är att det entreprenöriella universitetets öppenhet och interaktionen med det omgivande samhället, inte minst med den närliggande regionen, ökar de nydisputerades anställningsbarhet utanför akademin.

Avhandling baseras på fem publikationer skrivna antingen av en enskild författare eller i samarbete med kollegor och som grundar sig på såväl kvalitativa som kvantitativa studier. Tre huvudsakliga resultat kan lyftas från forskningen: (i) Det entreprenöriella universitetet ökar sitt socioekonomiska inflytande genom att skapa en plattform för samarbete med regionala aktörer, som utvecklas över åren och där mänskligt och ekonomiskt kapital i sig bidrar till att öka och bredda samarbetet ytterligare. (ii) De disputerades anställningsbarhet är en nyckel till det entreprenöriella universitetets möjlighet till socioekonomisk regional påverkan. Detta beror på att de disputerade i ökande utsträckning anställs utanför akademin och sannolikt upplever att det finns en miss-match i kunskaper och färdigheter. (iii) Regionala aktörer kan ta olika typer av initiativ för att öka anställningsbarheten för nyexaminerade doktorer och därmed också öka det entreprenöriella universitetets socioekonomiska inflytande. Mer specifikt bör doktorander och arbetsgivare utanför akademin lära känna varandra bättre. Intermediärer som närliggande forskningsbyar, Science parks, kan ge stöd genom att inrätta olika typer av mötesplatser.

Avhandlingen bidrar till litteraturen inom området entreprenöriella universitet genom att sätta fokus på doktorander och nyblivna doktorer i skärningspunkten mellan utbildning, forskning och den ’tredje uppgiften’. I avhandlingen ges också rekommendationer: Till universiteten: Utöver att anpassa innehållet i doktorandutbildningen till behoven hos arbetsgivare utanför akademin behöver akademin också lägga tonvikt på marknadsföring så att företagare och organisationer i regionen inser värdet av en doktorsexamen. Till nyblivna doktorer: utvidga kunskaperna om vilka karriärmöjligheter som står till buds och agera entreprenöriellt för att komplettera de brister de upplever i sin utbildning. Till arbetsgivare utanför akademin: samarbeta med universiteten och kommunicera vilka behov de har för att påverka läroplaner och inriktningar.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Linköping: Linköping University Electronic Press, 2020. , p. 109
Series
Linköping Studies in Science and Technology. Dissertations, ISSN 0345-7524 ; 2043
Keywords [en]
Entrepreneurial university, Doctoral education, Job mismatches, Regional development, Entrepreneurship, Non-academic careers, Employability
Keywords [sv]
Entreprenöriella universitet, Doktorsexamen, Matchning på arbetsmarknaden, Regional utveckling, Entreprenörskap, Icke-akademisk karriär, Anställningsbarhet
National Category
Economic Geography
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-164164DOI: 10.3384/diss.diva-164164ISBN: 9789179299149 (print)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-164164DiVA, id: diva2:1412990
Public defence
2020-04-24, Online through Zoom (contact Eloise.germain@liu.se for more information) and ACAS, A Building, Campus Valla, Linköping, 14:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Funder
EU, Horizon 2020, 722295Available from: 2020-03-09 Created: 2020-03-09 Last updated: 2020-04-17Bibliographically approved
List of papers
1. Entrepreneurial university dynamics: Structured ambivalence, relative deprivation and institution-formation in the Stanford innovation system
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Entrepreneurial university dynamics: Structured ambivalence, relative deprivation and institution-formation in the Stanford innovation system
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2019 (English)In: Technological forecasting & social change, ISSN 0040-1625, E-ISSN 1873-5509, Vol. 141, p. 159-171Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2019
National Category
Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-154859 (URN)10.1016/j.techfore.2018.10.019 (DOI)000460990700016 ()2-s2.0-85057023470 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2019-03-01 Created: 2019-03-01 Last updated: 2020-03-09Bibliographically approved
2. Universities and Science Parks: Engagements and Interactions in Developing and Attracting Talent
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Universities and Science Parks: Engagements and Interactions in Developing and Attracting Talent
2019 (English)In: Developing engaged and entrepreneurial universities: theories, concepts and empirical findings / [ed] Thorsten Kliewe, Tobias Kesting, Carolin Plewa, Thomas Baaken, Singapore: Springer, 2019, p. 151-169Chapter in book (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Many studies have shown that they have ceased to be mere facilitators of physical spaces to become important providers of services and resources to their tenants. Universities situated in or next to them play a key role in getting engaged in the development and the attraction of talent to Science Parks, to their tenant firms as well as to the region. Considering that skilled professionals are one of the resources that companies seek the most, Science Parks have dedicated numerous activities and means to become even more attractive to talented individuals, who can especially be found in entrepreneurial universities. In this study, we review the literature regarding the interactions existing between Science Parks or their tenants and their local universities. Talent attraction and entrepreneurship issues are addressed as the building blocks of these interactions. We strive to identify types of interactions that could differ in function of the maturity levels of the firms since their aims are not the same: at an early stage, firms tend to focus more on growth, whereas at a later stage, they tend to focus more on their development. We then point out policy implications, concerning both entrepreneurial or engaged universities and Science Parks.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Singapore: Springer, 2019
Keywords
Entrepreneurial university, Engaged university, University-industrial collaboration, Science parks, Human capital
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-160680 (URN)10.1007/978-981-13-8130-0_8 (DOI)9789811381294 (ISBN)9789811381300 (ISBN)
Available from: 2019-10-01 Created: 2019-10-01 Last updated: 2022-03-15Bibliographically approved
3. Doctoral education and employment in the regions: the case of Catalonia
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Doctoral education and employment in the regions: the case of Catalonia
2019 (English)In: Regional Studies, Regional Science, E-ISSN 2168-1376, Vol. 6, no 1, p. 299-318Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Even though the doctoral degree was originally designed for an academic career, there is an increasingly important labour market for doctorate holders outside academia, mainly because of a shortage of job opportunities within it. Doctoral degrees are granted only by universities; thus, universities are the only suppliers of the doctoral workforce to the labour market. Understanding the needs of non-academic employers is thus crucial if universities are to adapt their doctoral education curriculum. Many studies have analyzed labour markets for doctorate holders at national and transnational scales, but few studies focus on the regional scale. The present study explores regional data for Catalonia in Spain on the employment situation of doctorate holders in order to define the characteristics of the regional, non-academic labour market for doctorate holders. Descriptive statistics suggest a high retention rate of doctorate holders within the region and a large part of doctorate holders (two-thirds) having a job that does not require a doctoral degree. This study highlights the existence of a skills mismatch that might be linked to the preference for a better paid or more stable job, or to the lack of development of skills that represent added value in the eyes of employers. These characteristics can be formulated as hypotheses to be tested in further qualitative or quantitative studies. They have several implications for universities, non-academic employers and regional policy-makers, such as the need to work on the valorization of the doctoral degree in the non-academic labour market.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Koenigstein, Germany: Koeltz Scientific Books, 2019
Keywords
doctoral education, doctorate holders, graduate employment, regional labour market, over-education, job mismatch
National Category
Economic Geography
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-157100 (URN)10.1080/21681376.2019.1584049 (DOI)000470229600001 ()
Available from: 2019-05-28 Created: 2019-05-28 Last updated: 2023-06-02Bibliographically approved
4. Aligning doctoral education with local industrial employers needs: a comparative case study
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Aligning doctoral education with local industrial employers needs: a comparative case study
2020 (English)In: European Planning Studies, ISSN 0965-4313, E-ISSN 1469-5944, Vol. 28, no 2, p. 234-254Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Doctoral education was primarily designed to answer the human resources needs of academia. However, nowadays, increasing numbers of doctorate holders seek employment outside academia. Accordingly, doctoral education can be one of the means by which universities take part in the development of industry in their regions. This study explores whether and how doctoral-level skills are being adapted to the needs of local industrial employers in two different contexts. Two research and science parks situated next to research-intensive universities in Sweden and Spain were chosen as cases for an exploratory and comparative study. In these parks, local industrial employers conduct Ramp;D activities that make them potentially attractive destinations for doctoral graduates. Similarities in the cases were found regarding the process of adaptation of doctoral education at the adjacent universities to meet the industrial employers needs in the parks. Discrepancies are also highlighted regarding stages of development, institutional settings, geography and culture. Implications for several stakeholders are formulated to improve the process analysed in the study concerning better alignment of doctoral education with industrial employers need for generic skills.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2020
Keywords
Doctoral education, science and technology parks, university-industry collaboration, generic skills, transferable skills
National Category
Economic Geography
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-159144 (URN)10.1080/09654313.2019.1637401 (DOI)000475016900001 ()2-s2.0-85068804042 (Scopus ID)
Funder
EU, Horizon 2020
Note

Funding Agencies|H2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions [722295]

Available from: 2019-07-30 Created: 2019-07-30 Last updated: 2020-03-09Bibliographically approved

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Germain-Alamartine, Eloïse

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