Around the world, it is widely acknowledged that knowledge is one of the main drivers of social and economic development. Universities take a central role in the future competitiveness of any country by (1) increasing a region’s level of knowledge, (2) producing a highly-qualified workforce and (3) developing technological innovations

In order to encourage development and collaboration across European universities within these areas, the European Union (EU) defined two complementing essential strategies, the “Bologna Process” and the “Lisbon Strategy” which are intended as a blueprint for all European universities’ activities.

Successful integration into the European Research Area, as well as the European Higher Education Area, is of utmost political and economic importance for both the Western Balkan (WB) region and the EU. The WB countries underwent massive institutional changes in the 1990s, which directly affected the research sector. Currently, one of the main barriers to a coherent R&D system relates to the linking of R&D institutes, universities and the private sector. WB universities rely principally on individual initiatives, lacking a consistent institutional approach. Furthermore, most of the universities in the WB neither have their own university R&D strategy nor R&D support services/offices.

The project Creating R&D Capacities and Instruments for boosting HE-Economy Cooperation aims at addressing these specific shortages in the field of R&D at the most influential universities in four countries.