About the project
This 4-year doctoral project investigates the role of universities in
regional development. The study, qualitative in nature, focuses on three
case institutions (in Norway, Finland and South Africa), with a particular
emphasis on the impact of the regional dimension in the structural
arrangements and primary activities of universities. Close to 100
face-face interviews amongst senior administrators and academics were
conducted. Preliminary findings suggest that all case universities act as
an important basis for the building up of localised knowledge
infrastructures and that their scope of activities (teaching, research and
outreach/service) play a critical role in the future social-economic
development of their regions. The study also points to a set of critical
factors, both internal and external to the universities in question, that
influence the role of the university in regional development.
Reseach category
Basic research