Noting that knowledge-based tendencies in global economy have greatly affected the academic environment, Secretary of Iran Urban Economics Scientific Association (IUESA) Dr. Seyyed Mohsen Tabatabaei Mozdabadi said, “The global economy has grown to the point that the commercialization of academic capital has created an undeniable necessity in the development of societies”.

Touching upon statistics, he added, “Globally, one out of 11 employed people, directly or indirectly, operates in the knowledge-based economy, and half of the OECD’s GDP is also derived from a knowledge-based economy”.

Mentioning that knowledge-based economy has led to the development of scientific education approaches, he further said, “Universities, as well as private companies, are struggling to gain competitive advantage and strengthen resources in international markets”.

“The reduction of budgets allocated to universities and departments has led scientific collections to seek to commercialize their products,” the lecturer of Kharazmi University added.

Stating that the academic atmosphere in Iran has also taken steps to commercialize its products, which is inadequate, he added, “One of the less-regarded issues is the idea of an entrepreneurial university”.

“Entrepreneurial university is one that combines the missions related to the development in economic, social, cultural and other aspects with university research and educational missions, and in practice, it creates a reasonable and strong relationship between the scientific spaces and researchers,” he further explained.

“In our opinion, the university is an entrepreneur that has put all its efforts in the commercialization of scientific products and created a platform and a supportive environment for the development of entrepreneurial activities,” the vice-president of IUESA said.

“Universities and scientific spaces can earn money through solutions such as organizational reputation, credit of scientific figures, and providing consulting services,” he further said.

Referring to the research regarding entrepreneurship at European universities, especially Sweden and Ireland, he said, “The research offers eight specific models of entrepreneurship, such as contract research, large-scale scientific projects, patents and licensing, branching, counseling, out-of-university education, sales of products, preparation of measuring equipment, and calibration”.

Source : ISNA