Saxion is part of the Dutch system of universities for higher vocational training and applied sciences. In this paper a case study is presented to gain more insight in spin offs of these types of universities, and their effect on the regional economy. For this purpose a database of 152 spin offs has been developed and a first survey was analysed. Most spin offs are active in the ICT and business services sectors. We have compared the results with the spin offs University of Twente. We observed that the percentage of spin offs, which was located outside the surrounding region of Saxion (33%) was significantly higher, than the percentage of spin off of the University of Twente (22%). The spin offs outside the region also have employees than Saxion spin off in the region. There is however no difference in the way the spin off perceive the business climate of their location. Stimulating entrepreneurship at universities of applied seems a good strategy to support the development of the promising knowledge intensive service sector in the eastern part of the |Netherlands. On the other hand this strategy should be accompanied with policy instruments aiming at convincing alumni entrepreneurs to stay in the region.
MULTIFILE
The integration of research activities in universities of applied sciences (UASs) has led to the transformation of these universities into organisations with two primary processes: research and education. Although many believe in the benefits of combining research and education in one organisation, which is referred to as synergy in this study, research–education synergies have rarely been empirically investigated, particularly in the UAS context. Thus, this research investigates the intended synergy between the research and education of UASs by conducting a document analysis of their university-wide strategic policy. The findings show that UASs aim for synergies among people, UAS organisations and outside UAS organisations, with a focus on education-oriented synergies. This study provides an initial understanding of the strategic aims of UASs considering research–education synergy. The findings provide direction and a framework for future research and form a base for making explicit strategic choices for research–education connections in universities.
