Sustainability strategy for Universities in the Western Balkan Region

WBCInno aims at planting the seeds of change for KTT in West Balkan countries. The Project extends across five universities situated in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia to achieve the following objectives:

•   To establish a Regional University Innovation Platform (UIP) at five WBC universities for integration and to focusing on innovation potential and for fostering technology transfer and commercialisation,
•   To reinforce existing and to establish new university structures and services in the areas of knowledge transfer, research and innovation, in line with the UIP,
•   To support the development of university-based Business Incubators (BI) and Science Technology Parks (STP) in the WBC region, through mobilizing of university resources and partnerships with the business world,
•   To develop a methodology for innovation management and networking of different cross-functional stakeholders from university and business, based on a collaborative software platform/tool,
•   To facilitate the creativity of young people and involvement of public and private stakeholders in all modernisation processes based on the Triple Helix model of cooperation.

In particular, the aims of the WBCInno Sustainability Strategy are to:
•   Ensure sustained development of WBC universities as socially responsible institutions;
•   Encourage creativity among students and assist them to develop business ideas;
•   Identify/ensure sources for financial sustainability; and,
•   Achieve the knowledge triangle.

The major factors that currently hinder sustainability have been identified as follows:
•   WB Rectorates do not fully support WBCInno and the adoption, implementation and tuning of University Innovation Platforms;
•   University staff might be inert and resistant to change;
•   Financial resources for BI/STP infrastructures are not available;
•   Students and young researchers are not motivated to join the innovation network/platform;
•   National and local media support dissemination activities and follow up project events do not eventuate;
•   A lack of readiness, availability and interest of target groups, especially the Ministries of education, science and economic development, to participate in the dissemination and awareness raising project activities;
•   Enterprises do not have the necessary motivation to cooperate;
•   Insufficient number of employees are sufficiently motivated to engage in training events;
•   Insufficient number of students are interested in presenting innovative ideas;
•   Ministries do not sufficiently support cooperation within the Triple Helix model due to the lack of financial resources;
•   Students and university staff are not encouraged to establish spin offs and start-ups; and,
•   BI/STP staff and their tenants are not motivated to participate in capacity building training and to use services offered by universities.