The creation of academic networks as a success factor for knowledge transfer

Successful knowledge transfer in academic networks is of great importance for the development of innovations. They are the foundation for scientific basic research as well as applied research. Co-operation and knowledge transfer between private and public players provide the opportunity to generate and to absorb new knowledge. There are different types of knowledge interactions between university and firms, e.g. employment of graduates by firms, training of firm members, collaborative research and spin-offs. The cooperation ope depends on the co-operation goal and the fulfilling task. The co-operation can be one essential success factor for universities and academic institutions which are the basic institutions for generating theoretical knowledge and know-how. Therefore we investigate the collaboration between science and enterprises as well as incentives and barriers of co-operation and academic networks. In recent years the creation of networks is highly encouraged by the German State through specific public programs. In order to educate the students near to the hands-on experience, it is necessary to cooperate with companies intensely (e.g. dual educational system in Germany). Otherwise companies need science-based expertise for being innovative and competitive. Therefore it is necessary to recognize incentives for knowledge transfer and to analyze co-operation barriers.