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Leadership and governance

Entrepreneurship is a major part of the strategy of the higher education institution

Supporting entrepreneurship through higher education is a policy priority in Ireland (see Chapter 1). Approximately two-thirds of the surveyed higher education institutions (HEIs) have agreements with government bodies related to the entrepreneurship education activities they offer, and more than half for start-up support measures. Strategies supporting knowledge exchange, entrepreneurship and innovation are well evolved, understood and being implemented through various activities including strategic planning processes at institutional and unit levels. This provides a fertile environment not only for learner development and the commercialisation of research but also for the creation of new transdisciplinary research areas which will be crucial to effectively addressing the emerging societal challenges of the 21st century.

All of the six HEIs visited clearly demonstrated the embedding of entrepreneurship within their institute strategy1 and across the organisation as a whole. Dedicated and professional entrepreneurship teams have introduced new initiatives and brought in international partners. Entrepreneurship education is fully backed by senior management. Presidents awards dedicated to entrepreneurship and innovation are used as effective initiatives to recognise and reward students and staff for their achievements.

Figure 2.1 shows the varying entrepreneurship related objectives of Irish HEIs derived from the HEI Leader Survey implemented as part of this review. In common is the desire of HEIs to help students develop entrepreneurial competences and skills. Promoting self-employment and business start-up as viable career options to students was perceived as slightly more important by the institutes of technology (IOTs). Both universities and IOTs consider themselves as having a leading role in the local development agenda and in co‐operating with local firms. A notable difference exists with regard to generating revenue from spin-off activities and the commercialisation of research results: universities saw this as having a greater importance than IOTs.

There is commitment at a high level to implementing the entrepreneurial agenda

An effective and sustainable implementation of the entrepreneurial agenda requires a high level of commitment. The starting point is building a shared understanding of what the entrepreneurial agenda means for the different stakeholders in the HEI, that is, leadership, academic staff, administrative staff and students, and for external partners (e.g. government, businesses, civil society organisations, donors). Central to this are communication and consultation about what the entrepreneurial agenda entails in terms of objectives, activities, priorities and resources. This can be linked with the process of defining and reviewing the HEI strategy. All surveyed HEIs reported involving staff in consultations and 80% reported involving students. Half of the HEIs consult local and regional governments as well as local businesses and their representative bodies, and slightly less (45%) reach out to multinational corporations.

There is no doubt that the Irish higher education system as a whole values the importance of developing awareness of entrepreneurship, and actively encourages individuals to develop the attitudes, skills and knowledge to become entrepreneurs. Most of the HEIs surveyed offer entrepreneurship education activities, which aim at competence development (85%), and targeted start-up support measures (80%). More than half of the HEIs have created top-level management positions to support these activities in addition to positions at departmental/faculty level.

According to the HEI Leader Survey, on average one-third of students currently participate in entrepreneurship education activities, and the HEIs expect this to rise to 50% in the next five years. To increase participation rates and the offer of entrepreneurship education activities, a range of targeted efforts are underway (Figure 2.2). The most common measures to enhance participation are communication efforts, invitation of entrepreneurs as guest speakers, and business plan competitions with attractive prizes.

Only 60% reported using the allocation of credits to raise participation rates in line with the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS). This, however, could be a very effective way of raising the interest of students. IOTs appear to be more active than universities in this regard in raising the take-up of entrepreneurship education activities overall.

There is a model in place for co-ordinating and integrating entrepreneurial activities across the HEI

HEIs across Europe have experimented with different approaches to establishing an effective model for co-ordinating and integrating various entrepreneurial activities across the institution, and to facilitate exchange of experiences and peer-support, particularly in education activities. A common approach is to anchor the entrepreneurial agenda within senior management, often in the form of a dedicated unit, which is part of the Rector’s/President’s or the Vice-Rector’s/Vice-President’s office. Another approach is to appoint a number of professors who have entrepreneurship in their title or a chair in entrepreneurship. An increasingly practiced approach is the establishment of an entrepreneurship centre to ensure easy access and visibility inside and outside the HEI. Whichever model is employed, it should take into account and build on existing relationships both inside the HEI and in the surrounding entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Examples of all three approaches are present in Irish HEIs. The entrepreneurial agenda is supported and driven at senior management level most usually by a combination of the Vice-President for Research and the heads of faculty. Below this level no consistent model is imposed, which reflects the innovative and bottom-up approach taken by HEIs to deliver entrepreneurship and innovation development. All surveyed HEIs reported that they have a permanent contact point (e.g. entrepreneurship centre) where individuals or teams, who would like to start up a business can go for support. With the exception of one respondent, these centres were an integral part of the HEI.

The HEI encourages and supports faculties and units to act entrepreneurially

Individual faculties and units in all of the HEIs visited clearly demonstrated an ability to develop faculty initiatives in both innovation and entrepreneurship relevant to local, regional, national and in some instances international needs. This reflects well in terms of the ability of Irish HEIs to be flexible and responsive within individual disciplines and at different levels within their organisational structure in order to meet the needs of both internal and external stakeholders. National competitions, such as the all-Ireland business plan competition, are seen as very important to showcase achievements within HEIs.

The HEI is a driving force for entrepreneurship and innovation in regional, social and community development

Irish HEIs, especially in a regional context, are important actors in the social and economic development of the local area. In some instances they might be the sole higher education provider in a region (which is very critical in a country like Ireland where student mobility is so low), and often they are also one of the largest employers and purchasers of goods and services. Based on the meetings conducted with external stakeholders, including state agencies responsible for industry and enterprise support, research and development, business and industry groups and local authority representatives, the HEIs are seen as key drivers for innovation and entrepreneurship in the wider regional, social and community environment.

The HEIs visited have embedded academic expertise in local and regional development, capacity building, organisational development etc. within their own institutions. This practice was observed not only in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) but also in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS). Several examples of good and promising practice are discussed in Chapter 5.

The HEI Leader Survey indicates that the HEIs have developed relationships with various public and non-public bodies for the purposes of contributing to local development (Figure 2.3). The surveyed IOTs appear to be more connected with local strategic partnerships and industry clusters than the universities. Also, collaboration with regional and local government bodies and national government agencies appears to be more developed in IOTs than in universities.

Organisational capacity: Funding, people and incentives

Entrepreneurial objectives are supported by a wide range of sustainable funding and investment sources

Irish HEIs are heavily, and in some cases almost totally, dependent on contract rather than core funding to support entrepreneurial and innovation activities including R&D, enterprise support and new teaching and learning initiatives. This position has become even more pronounced during the recent economic crisis, which has seen a significant reduction in state funding for the higher education system. This is impacting on the sustainability of the HEIs’ entrepreneurial and innovation strategies as their financial strategies have to be fluid and flexible and focused on maintaining core activities principally in the teaching and learning arena.

Nevertheless, HEIs have responded very positively in terms of securing additional sources of funding or increasing their share of external funding sources. Notable is their continued commitment to prioritise entrepreneurial and innovation activities due to their positive local development impact. Figure 2.4 shows the HEI Leader Survey results relevant to current and expected sources of funding for entrepreneurship support, including both education and start-up support activities. The largest source of funding comes from project-specific grants from national government, 30% is from the HEI’s regular budget and slightly below 20% are project-specific funding from the European Union (EU), private sponsors or investors, and funding from regional or local governments. Revenues generated from commercialisation activities fund approximately 13% of the entrepreneurship support activities. Looking five years ahead, the HEIs expect to see an increase in funding from the EU, private sources and revenues from commercialisation activities, whereas funding from national government and HEI budgets are expected to decrease.

The HEI has the capacity and culture to build new relationships and synergies across the institution

In general, communication and collaboration between faculties, students and academic staff appears to take place through both formal and informal channels. Many examples of inter-faculty and inter-disciplinary collaborations were observed during the study visits, including formal agreements for academic staff to teach entrepreneurship in other faculties.

Support staff who can help spot opportunities and engineer the interdisciplinary and external partnerships that are increasingly needed to secure research funding have become a rare luxury. In many cases it is down to individual researchers to build the partnerships needed and write proposals. In the IOTs this is hugely challenging given the high teaching load during term time. Where support staff are in place they seem to spend a high proportion of their time educating themselves about requirements within the funding organisations and disseminating this information to the research community.

Collaboration of HEIs, for example in the Regional Clusters and Regional Skills Fora, is an important feature of the Irish higher education system as will be discussed further in Chapter 3.

The HEI is open to engaging and recruiting individuals with entrepreneurial attitudes, behaviour and experience

Institutional autonomy is a core principle of higher education in Ireland as it is in many other countries. Reduced funding with increased rules and conditionality has meant that while the principle of autonomy remains, in practice HEIs have far less flexibility and freedom than in the past. This is particularly relevant to the recruitment of new staff, with HEIs having to comply with nationally determined employment control frameworks which have limited their ability to recruit new staff of the appropriate calibre and quality.

Another aspect of knowledge links, experience, and new sources of revenue is related to academic consultancy, i.e. academics working for external organisations in their own time. When these activities remain unknown to the HEI, the benefits and the impacts of academic consultancy work are not being captured or fed back into the knowledge activities of the HEI and the higher education sector as a whole. In other jurisdictions arrangements are in place which allow academic consultancy be recognised rather than operate on an ad-hoc basis which enables the HEI, the academic and the state to benefit from the impact of such activities.

The National Strategy for Higher Education (see Chapter 1), has been a major step towards supporting HEIs in their efforts to enhance entrepreneurship and innovation. When academic staff are recruited or promoted, their innovation and entrepreneurship activities and outcomes are taken into account (e.g. considering patents and patent licensing agreements, contract research and development with companies or other organisations, spin-off creation, participations in non-governmental organisation (NGO) activities that contribute to local development or triple/quadruple helix models of collaboration, teaching and learning activities, acting as a mentor to student entrepreneurs, etc.). Highly qualified professionals who are fully dedicated to innovation and entrepreneurship activities have well-defined and relatively stable careers within the HEI as their salaries are partly funded from the HEI’s budget and not only from project-based funding. This ensures that people with relevant knowledge and skills remain in such functions and at the HEI or in the higher education sector.

The HEI invests in staff development to support its entrepreneurial agenda

A strong emphasis is placed on teaching and learning practices within staff development programmes in the Irish higher education system. Most, if not all, HEIs offer courses in teaching and learning practice to their academic staff. The National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education is a platform that has great potential to introduce and enhance innovative pedagogies and teaching methods through rewards and guidance. 140 discipline groups exist and a collaborative website enhances cross-discipline exchange. It will be important that the Forum provides enough space (e.g. working groups) to include existing networks, such as the Campus Entrepreneurship Enterprise Network (CEEN) and others to build on already existing good practice and to ensure the sustainability of networks, which have been formed in the past (see Chapter 1 for more information on CEEN). The National Forum has recently published a national approach to continuous professional development, which is currently being piloted.

Incentives and rewards are given to staff who actively support the entrepreneurial agenda

Ensuring the success of engagement and outreach activities requires resources, which are made available on a long-term basis and are integrated into the wider resource development and incentive system. Current pay structures and employment conditions within the Irish higher education system do not allow for bonus payments or other financial rewards for those who actively support the HEI’s entrepreneurial agenda. Individual HEIs, however, do provide other incentives including a reduction in teaching loads, in support of, for example, research and development (R&D) activities, and awards schemes for staff who demonstrate excellence in teaching and learning and in some HEIs’ entrepreneurial activity. Less common are rewards for mentoring nascent entrepreneurs. Staff rewards, in general, seem to be more common in universities than in IOTs (Figure 2.5).

Entrepreneurial teaching and learning

The HEI provides diverse formal learning opportunities to develop entrepreneurial mindsets and skills

Stimulating entrepreneurship plays an important role in Irish higher education and entrepreneurship education is offered across the sector in various formats and across many disciplines. In all the HEIs visited for this report, there was clear evidence of the centrality of student development in the mission of the institutions and the desire to help students develop entrepreneurial mindset and behaviours. Course modules and programmes in entrepreneurship commonly originated from the HEI’s business school. Increasingly these have been adapted and transferred into other disciplines and in some cases adopted across multiple disciplines within HEIs.

Figure 2.6 shows the target groups of entrepreneurship education activities. It is clear that while all HEIs target Level 7 (Ordinary Bachelor) and Level 8 (Bachelor) students, universities focus more on postgraduate programmes than the IOTs. Students in lifelong learning programmes are not yet a common target group.2

As part of the teaching and learning strategies in HEIs, an increasing emphasis is being placed on providing learners with greater exposure to real world experiences which promote entrepreneurial mindset and skills through live projects and case studies as well as expanded work placement programmes. Methods used to deliver the programmes are also varied and include classroom delivery, one-to-one mentoring, peer mentoring and group work, use of live projects, case studies and hackathons. The HEI Leader Survey shows that a wide range of teaching methods are used across the different study programmes, including problem-based learning, internships, visits to companies, tutoring, and self-learning exercises using digital learning environments. Less common are the use of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and online lectures (Figure 2.7).

Looking more specifically at entrepreneurship education, lectures and frontal teaching are the most common teaching methods, followed by entrepreneurs as guest speakers in class and project-based learning. Comparing the teaching approaches in entrepreneurship education activities with all education activities, not much difference can be noted for frontal teaching, whereas problem-based learning, visits to companies and digital learning environments seem to be practiced less often in entrepreneurship education activities. Experience reports by start-ups are common or regularly organised in less than half of the HEIs which currently offer entrepreneurship education activities (Figure 2.8).

The HEI provides diverse informal learning opportunities and experiences to stimulate the development of entrepreneurial mindsets and skills

Extra-curricular learning opportunities have become an important complement to formal entrepreneurship courses. A very popular informal learning method with students is to participate in student associations, which are well established in all Irish HEIs. The HEI Leader Survey shows that there has been a large increase in student demand for informal learning opportunities across nearly all surveyed HEIs. The HEIs have prepared the ground for this with a broad range of communication activities used to advertise extra-curricular education activities on entrepreneurship (Figure 2.9). Most common is the use of social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, special events, and information on websites. Less used were mailing lists, newsletters, and regular events such as fairs and dedicated round table meetings.

The HEI validates entrepreneurial learning outcomes which drives the design and execution of the entrepreneurial curriculum

60% of the surveyed HEIs, which offer entrepreneurship education activities, also undertake formal evaluations. When practiced this is mostly an obligatory procedure. The focus is on competence development and satisfaction of participants; half of the HEIs also measured the motivation of participants to start a business. In the majority of HEIs (83.3%) a specifically tailored survey instrument was used; and more than 40% reported that entrepreneurship education activities were also evaluated with focus groups. When a questionnaire was used it was mostly at the end of the course (75%); only two HEIs reported collecting data at multiple times in order to analyse the effectiveness of the course.

The HEI co-designs and delivers the curriculum with external stakeholders

Contact with external stakeholders in Irish HEIs occurs at all levels and across all units and is primarily focused on improving the relevance and impact of their teaching and learning, R&D and engagement strategies. The HEIs also avail of the expertise of external stakeholders on a regular short term, part-time and occasional basis to support entrepreneurial activities. Examples of this include the use of industry experts in course development and validation activities by all IOTs in the country, the use of external entrepreneurs as student mentors by the careers department, and the availability of entrepreneurs in residence within business school structures.

Figure 2.10 shows the extent to which the various stakeholders in higher education are engaged in entrepreneurship education activities. The results, which come from the HEI Leader Survey show that both the design and delivery of such activities is extensively shared with external stakeholders. Key partners are SMEs, individual entrepreneurs, technology parks and incubators, business support organisations, chambers of commerce as well as large firms. Also other HEIs are key partners in the design and delivery of these activities. Less frequent partners are business consultants, tax advisors and lawyers, venture capital providers, business angels and banks. Their involvement is more evident in the delivery of education activities than in the design phase. This kind of collaboration pattern also applies to multinational corporations.

Results of entrepreneurship research are integrated into the entrepreneurial education offer

There are several well-connected networks of entrepreneurship educators and practitioners in Ireland (see Chapter 1). This greatly facilitates the inclusion of the results of entrepreneurship research in entrepreneurship teaching and course content.

Preparing and supporting entrepreneurs

The HEI increases awareness of the value of entrepreneurship and stimulates the entrepreneurial intentions of students, graduates and staff to start up a business or venture

The Irish higher education system as a whole actively encourages individuals to become more entrepreneurial through a wide, rich and innovative range of initiatives and programmes. These include undergraduate and postgraduate programme modules, work based learning initiatives, business start-up and business incubation programmes, mentoring initiatives and start-up funding for researchers (see Chapter 1).

Some HEIs expose students to entrepreneurship skills development at the latter stage of their undergraduate studies and expand on this during the course of taught postgraduate programmes. The approach across disciplines also varies, with entrepreneurship obviously appearing as a central theme within business programmes, but with a more limited presence within the Science, Technology and Engineering fields.

Business start-up programmes are available in all of the HEIs visited and are available to both students and staff as well as individuals outside of the higher education community. The Enterprise Ireland (EI) funded New Frontiers Entrepreneur Development Programme which runs in IOTs is regarded as a highly successful platform to provide support for individuals and groups to move entrepreneurial ideas into action (see Chapter 1 for more information). Communication is a priority and it is easy to find information about the entrepreneurial activities on the HEI’s websites; on average it takes three “clicks” to get up‐to-date information about entrepreneurship courses, hackathons, incubation facilities, co-working spaces, and other start-up support measures.

More than half of the surveyed HEIs had adopted rules and regulations concerning the use of trademarks and 70% for the commercialisation of research results. Slightly more than 60% of the HEIs were, at the time of the survey, shareholders in firms founded by staff or students.

The HEI supports its students, graduates and staff to move from idea generation to business creation

Irish government policy has put significant efforts into building a strong and sustainable entrepreneurship ecosystem (see Chapter 1), whose key pillars are i) culture, human capital and education, ii) business environment and support, iii) access to finance, iv) entrepreneurial networks and mentoring, v) access to markets, iv) innovation. The role of HEIs in this is only implicitly understood, however a clear definition of what the responsibilities and resources of HEIs are in each pillar will enhance the effectiveness of the system.

All of the visited HEIs provide extensive supports and facilities to assist individuals and groups in the business start-up and business support arenas. Supports provided include the use of on-site incubation space, mentoring by academic and business support staff, and use of specialised and advanced research and development facilities. In some instances, these services are provided on a pro bono basis but in general they are funded by external income sources such as the Enterprise Ireland innovation vouchers scheme.

Comparing the current offer of entrepreneurship education activities with the start-up support measures, there appears to be a gap for students in terms of start-up support. While students are the number one target for entrepreneurship education activities in both universities and IOTs, start-up support is more oriented towards researchers, professors, other staff members, alumni and people from outside the HEI (Figure 2.11). This gap is less obvious in IOTs.

Interviews during the study visits confirmed that from a student perspective the use of real life projects and work placement opportunities exposed them to environments in which they encountered challenges that encouraged the development of their entrepreneurial skills. For those requiring support with business development ideas, entrepreneurship experience was more commonly gained through one-to-one or group mentoring activities provided by in house expertise, as well as external entrepreneurs in residence and links with supports available from other relevant external agencies.

All of the surveyed HEIs offer a wide range of start-up support measures (Figure 2.12). All provide assistance with handling intellectual property rights, preparation of business plans, support the application for public funding, refer nascent entrepreneurs and teams to external business support organisations, and offer access to infrastructure, such as incubation facilities and co-working spaces. Only one-third of the HEIs reported also providing financial resources. Nearly all HEIs noted an increased demand for assistance with applications for public funding and close to 70% reported an increased interest from nascent entrepreneurs in the HEI facilitating contacts with potential investors, such as venture capitalists, business angels and banks. Gaps between supply and demand are notable in relation to assistance with internationalisation and the provision of financial resources by the HEI itself.

Training is offered to assist students, graduates and staff in starting, running and growing a business

Start-up training courses, offered as part of the entrepreneurship education activities, provide relevant knowledge about financing, legal and regulatory issues, and human resource management. Soft skills, which are very important to effectively marshal resources and handle the start-up process are often acquired through out-of-class activities. HEIs in Ireland offer training to assist students, graduates and staff in starting, running and growing a business as part of the entrepreneurship education activities and through the incubation facilities.

The HEI Leader Survey shows the most practiced training methods in education activities are case studies, business idea generation activities, business plan writing and simulations or direct applications of how to start-up a business, or to further develop an entrepreneurial initiative (Figure 2.13). Less practiced but still common to more than half of the surveyed HEIs are, prototype development, case studies on companies in the region, exercises using the Business Model Canvas methodology, and case studies on company failure. Least practiced were simulations or direct applications of how to internationalise an entrepreneurial initiative.

Mentoring and other forms of personal development are offered by experienced individuals from academia or industry

Almost all HEIs reported that they offered mentoring by experienced entrepreneurs and slightly less offered mentoring by staff (Figure 2.12, above). Demand for mentoring has increased over the last two years. More than 60% of the surveyed HEIs reported that mentoring nascent entrepreneurs was recognised along with other outstanding achievements in areas other than research and teaching.

The HEI facilitates access to financing for its entrepreneurs

The HEIs reported that they offered a range of measures to facilitate access to finance (Figure 2.12, above). All provided assistance with applications for public funding, more than 80% facilitate contacts with potential investors, such as venture capitalists and business angels and banks, and one-third of the HEIs provide financial resources.

The HEI offers or facilitates access to business incubation

All surveyed HEIs offer business incubation facilities on campus or support access to incubation facilities elsewhere. All of the on-campus incubation facilities offered coaching and training, access to the HEI’s laboratories and use of the HEI’s IT services. More than two-thirds of the surveyed HEIs also offer help with internationalisation and facilitate access to financing as part of their incubation facilities.

Knowledge exchange and collaboration

The HEI is committed to collaboration and knowledge exchange with industry, the public sector and society

As part of its National Strategy for Higher Education, Ireland has prioritised HEI engagement with society as one of three key mission pillars. Indeed, HEIs, through recent government policies and initiatives such as the Action Plan for Jobs and the Regional Skills Fora, are being placed at the forefront and seen as key drivers of regional and national economic and societal development plans (see Chapter 1). All of the HEIs visited demonstrated active involvement in partnerships and relationships with a wide range of stakeholders including, for example, active participation and involvement with local, regional and national organisations such as county development boards, local and regional authorities, business and industry representative groups, chambers of commerce, professional bodies and state boards.

The HEI demonstrates active involvement in partnerships and relationships with a wide range of stakeholders

External stakeholders interviewed as part of the review process all expressed the view that HEI participation in networks and partnerships was not only of great value but also essential to the operation of these groups given the strength and range of expertise the HEIs had at their disposal. There are several examples of how researchers in HEIs helped firms to scale up their innovation activities (see Chapter 5). Indeed the success of R&D centres within the Irish higher education system is now more than ever based on the quality of the networks and partnerships which exist between the HEI and local, regional and national businesses and industry.

The HEIs visited presented ample evidence that they avail of every opportunity to link research, education and industry activities together to affect the whole knowledge ecosystem. This finding is confirmed by the results of the HEI Leader Survey which show the range of knowledge exchange practices and partners of HEIs (Figure 2.14). With regard to ad hoc or systematic involvement of external stakeholders in teaching, most common were partnerships with large firms, multinational corporations and SMEs. Similar patterns can be observed for the organisation of internships and different forms of technology and knowledge transfer. Temporary mobility schemes of academic staff (i.e. secondments) are organised mainly with large firms. Lifelong learning programmes are organised for, and with, a variety of organisations. Key partners for joint research initiatives and contract research include SMEs, large companies, multinational corporations, as well as other HEIs.

The geographic radius of knowledge exchange partners is large for the surveyed HEIs and included local contacts, as well as relationships with organisations located elsewhere in Ireland and within and outside the EU (Figure 2.15). Contacts with public/private research centres are mainly national, however 60% of the surveyed HEIs reported to have contacts within the wider EU area and 30% beyond. Relationships with other HEIs occur at all levels of geographic distance and they account for half of the HEIs’ links with partners outside the EU. Collaboration with regional/local governments is focused on the close proximity to the HEI and 40% of the respondents collaborate with these organisations also elsewhere in the country. Relationships with SMEs are either local or national and for close to one-quarter also cover the wider EU area. Partners from large firms and multinational corporations are mostly located elsewhere in Ireland, however two-thirds of the HEIs also have local collaborations. Contacts with Chambers are mainly local. Relationships with Alumni are mainly within Ireland but also have global scope.

The HEI has strong links with incubators, science parks and other external initiatives

All surveyed HEIs offer business incubation on campus or facilitate access to incubation facilities elsewhere and most of the HEIs collaborate with technology parks and incubators for the design and delivery of entrepreneurship support activities (Figure 2.10, above). In almost 70% of the HEIs the demand for incubation facilities increased over the last five years. Four HEIs reported having a representative of a technology park as a member of the HEI’s governing body.

The HEI provides opportunities for staff and students to take part in innovative activities with business and the external environment

Opportunities exist to support staff and student mobility between academia and the external environment. However, in the case of staff mobility this is limited due to lack of funding and limitations surrounding terms and conditions of employment.

Internships are a common practice to offer students the opportunity to participate in innovative activities with business and the external environment. More than two-thirds of the HEIs offer internships for their students; 40% have mandatory internships across most of their programmes at Bachelor level, 50% at Masters level, and 35% for doctoral study programmes. Supports for students include, in order of current practice: access to information about internship opportunities (86.7%), continuous support during mobility (86.7%), incentives for students to share their experiences with other students afterwards (40%), and financial support (33.3%).

Fewer initiatives exist to support the temporary mobility of HEI staff into industry and public organisations. Current practice was reported by only seven HEIs (35%) and a further four HEIs indicated that the introduction of secondment schemes is being considered by their governing authorities. The supports offered, in order of current practice, are: information about mobility opportunities (100%), continuous support during mobility (100%), incentives for staff to share their experiences after mobility (71%), and funding (57.1%).

The HEI integrates research, education and industry (wider community) activities to exploit new knowledge

There are several examples of projects where HEIs bring together research, education and the business community. They will be discussed in Chapters 3and 5.

The internationalised institution

Internationalisation is an integral part of the HEI’s entrepreneurial agenda

The international strategies of HEIs in all areas including student recruitment, exchange and placement activities; research and development, and staff mobility and recruitment are firmly rooted and have evolved from their active participation in international networks. Historically these networks commenced from participation in European projects but over time Irish HEIs have significantly expanded their internationalisation strategies and networks into the USA, Canada, Brazil, China, Malaysia and numerous countries in the Middle East. The HEI Leader Survey confirms this. More than 40% of the HEIs have knowledge exchange partners from across the European Union and more than 20% have global relationships (Figure 2.15, above).

All HEIs visited presented strong and ambitious international strategies of an entrepreneurial nature which are largely focused on income generation from international student recruitment and participation in international education and R&D initiatives. Although the internationalisation strategies of universities were well established and advanced, the scale and ambition of internationalisation in the IOTs was also impressive in terms of participation in international research projects, internships abroad and initiatives to facilitate international staff mobility.

The HEI explicitly supports the international mobility of its staff and students.

Common internationalisation practices of Irish HEIs include collaboration within Erasmus+, which is part of the European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students, international student exchange programmes and student internships abroad, international research collaboration, and joint international education programmes (e.g. double degree programmes). One university and one institute of technology reported that they had overseas campuses (Figure 2.16). Universities are slightly more active in these internationalisation activities than the IOTs.

Outward staff mobility programmes in Ireland are, in the main, funded by external sources. The recent economic situation has impacted negatively on outward staff mobility programmes with fewer opportunities being made available. In contrast, HEIs referenced and demonstrated significant success in recruiting staff and, in particular, research staff from abroad through a number of initiatives, including collaborations with other like-minded international partners.

Inward student mobility in the main is driven by progressive recruitment campaigns which project Ireland as English speaking and as being a country with an open and welcoming environment within the European Union. Fees for international students who choose to come to Ireland are also considered to be quite competitive in comparison to other international jurisdictions. Outward student mobility numbers in Ireland are principally driven by Erasmus programmes. A number of HEIs reference the American J1 visa programme as being one of the most successful outward student mobility programmes for Irish students. This, however, is a student working visa programme as opposed to an educational exchange programme. Inward student mobility significantly outnumbers outward student mobility. This was mentioned by all of the visited HEIs as a significant issue of concern.

The HEI seeks and attracts international and entrepreneurial staff

Irish HEIs are attractive employers for researchers and academic staff members from abroad. 70% of the surveyed HEIs reported to have recruitment policies and practices that seek to attract international staff. This was slightly more common (76.9%) for entrepreneurship education activities. More than half of the HEIs were recruiting international staff for their start-up support measures.

The international dimension is reflected in the HEI’s approach to research

Many HEIs are part of various international research networks with reach beyond the European Union (EU). More than 80% of the surveyed HEIs have knowledge exchange relationships with HEIs in the wider EU area, and 50% also with HEIs globally. Collaboration with public/private research organisations located elsewhere in the EU was practiced by 60% of the surveyed HEIs, and close to one-third collaborated with research organisations globally.

Measuring impact

The HEI regularly assesses the impact of its entrepreneurial agenda

The HEIs visited demonstrated a wide understanding of impact in terms of education, research, engagement and networks, and in terms of academic and non-academic results inside and outside the HEI. Impact is generated through non-linear processes, which are multi-iterative, parallel, multi-dimensional, absorptive and combine push and pull factors. Impact is not just about individual endeavours but systemic, taking into account how individual actions related to past, current and future activities at departmental, faculty and institutional levels. Generation and diffusion of impact needs supportive and flexible structures, communication infrastructure and skilled people. Communication is particularly important as impact related information is both qualitative and quantitative, it can be fuzzy in its nature and it is spread over time and different sources.

Ireland has introduced a sector-wide performance management system for its HEIs. As part of this process each HEI agrees an individual compact with the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on an annual basis and a portion of each HEI’s state grant is awarded based on performance relative to targets set in the compact. The HEA monitors a wide range of HEI-specific, as well as common metrics on an annual basis including enrolments by programme type and discipline, graduate statistics and research outcomes including research income, spin-offs and patents (see Chapter 1 for more information). Self-assessment is a key component of the performance management process. The use of the HEInnovate tool by Irish HEIs can therefore be a useful ongoing practice. It will be important that HEIs are supported in self-reflection practices, in particular, in terms of exchanging information and learning from each other. Individual HEIs or groups of HEIs within Ireland should consider creating strong collaborative and/or mentor links with other HEIs from the HEInnovate network at home and abroad that are advancing and embedding entrepreneurship and innovation within their strategies and practices.

As it stands the performance evaluation system does not fully evaluate the economic or social impact of supporting entrepreneurship and innovation in higher education. Individual HEIs, however, have introduced various impact measurements in this area. The HEI Leader Survey shows that 70% of the HEIs had introduced performance indicators for their entrepreneurial agenda (Figure 2.1, above).

The HEI regularly assesses how its personnel and resources support its entrepreneurial agenda

There are significant opportunities to impact on the local/regional economy, not only directly but in a wide range of indirect ways, both on the supply and demand side. If Irish businesses do not have the capacity to absorb the research, knowledge and skills coming out of HEIs then the danger is that these “leak” out of the region or country to other places with higher innovation capacity, creating an “innovation paradox” whereby high innovating places benefit from the investment made in lower innovating places, reinforcing the hierarchy of regions and countries as the strong places become ever stronger. This will be discussed in Chapter 4.

The HEI regularly assesses entrepreneurial teaching and learning across the institution

Assessing the impact of education activities is usually conducted by individual departments/units and for individual activities. Work placement programmes in all visited HEIs provided evidence of improved student performance on return from their placement period. Evaluation is also common practice for entrepreneurship education activities. 80% of the surveyed IOTs and 57% of the universities reported to have formal procedures established for this. Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) has issued guidelines on quality assurance to HEIs following the principle of providing HEIs with ownership of the guidelines.

The HEI regularly assesses the impact of start-up support

Close to 70% of the surveyed HEIs that currently provide start-up support measures evaluate their impact. This is slightly lower than evaluation of entrepreneurship education activities. All of the HEIs visited carry out regular monitoring and evaluation of their knowledge exchange activities and start-up support activities. The level of monitoring and evaluation in all instances was comprehensive and included measurement of the number of start-ups, spin-offs, patents, new research ideas and research relationships. This included participant satisfaction with available programmes, the monitoring of levels of job creation and income produced by start-up support measures. The level of monitoring and range of measures was relatively consistent across the HEIs and appeared, in the main, to be based on funding agency requirements as part of their reporting and evaluation processes.

The HEI regularly assesses knowledge exchange and collaboration

Irish HEIs are active in a range of knowledge exchange activities. There are many examples of innovative and impactful research taking place in Irish HEIs. However, it might be fair to say that individual HEIs, research groups, and the sector as a whole, have not been effective at telling their story and making the case for funding and investment. While there are numerous sources of information on various activities, these are not being translated effectively enough into details of their actual impacts in terms of the economy and society as a whole.

The HEI Leader Survey gathered information on certain activities and whether evaluation practices are in place. Most HEIs reported having formal evaluation practices in place for their technology transfer activities; also most of the pilot initiatives on industrial doctorates, the lifelong learning activities and collaboration on staff secondment are evaluated by the HEIs. Gaps can be noted for the evaluation of collaboration on internships, the systematic involvement of external stakeholders in teaching and joint research initiatives (Figure 2.17).

The HEI regularly assesses its international activities in relation to its entrepreneurial agenda

The HEIs visited all track their international activities in considerable detail. However, there is room to undertake more sophisticated impact assessments to understand where further investments would have the greatest effect (see Chapter 5).

Recommendations for public policy action

Enhance collaboration between policy structures and state agencies involved in supporting entrepreneurship and innovation in HEIs

As part of the development of the National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship significant efforts were put into building a strong and sustainable entrepreneurship ecosystem. The role of HEIs in this is only implicitly understood, however. A clear definition of what the responsibilities and resources of HEIs are in each pillar will enhance the effectiveness of the system. Co-ordination and communication with the help of existing cross-departmental and cross-agency higher education structures should be continually improved regarding programme activity and policy development. It will be important to consider approaches which may result in a consolidation of national funding programmes under a high-level co-ordination committee where research funders would meet to discuss policy objectives, future planning etc. on a regular basis.

Regional collaborative initiatives involving HEIs, such as the Regional Clusters and the Regional Skills Fora, are not only the building blocks of the 21st century Higher Education System in Ireland, but the initial stage for the development of knowledge and innovation regions in Ireland. As such it is timely to devote renewed attention to the initiative. To achieve the overall aim of these initiatives requires strengthening research capacity and capability, promoting enterprise and innovation, and attracting and retaining talent from home and abroad. A future phase in regional initiatives needs to focus on knowledge producers, users and transformers from businesses, industry and civil society. Sharing good practices amongst the regional initiatives through a “learning from each other” platform involving the governing bodies of the different regional groupings will be important. Coupled with this, HEIs and other stakeholders should be encouraged to come forward with specific development initiatives in order to avoid the process becoming too “top-down”.

Broaden the scope for inter- and transdisciplinary research initiatives in research priorities, and in the effort to mobilise HEIs in local and regional development

Addressing societal challenges increasingly requires interdisciplinary collaboration between medical, technological and scientific research interwoven with research questions and practices from the arts, humanities and social sciences. Conceptualising the research process and the impact of research only through the lenses of commercialisation and market opportunities will set too narrow a focus. Broadening the awareness and understanding of researchers of the (potential) impact of their research can counteract this. HEIs and research funders could explore the use of innovative tools to bring together researchers from different disciplines in order to build collaborative projects and proposals. Inter- and transdisciplinary research can also be crucial in mobilising HEIs for local development.

Review current employment control restrictions in higher education to allow for enhanced engagement activities with business and society

Revisions in terms and conditions of employment in higher education should be considered to allow for enhanced structured engagement with external stakeholders including the provision of industry sabbaticals/exchange and recognition of academic/industry consultancy activities. To support, encourage and implement even short two to three week staff mobility initiatives on a sector wide scale would greatly enhance the entrepreneurial culture across the higher education system.

Continue targeted state investment in internationalisation initiatives

The Irish higher education system would benefit greatly from continued targeted state investment in internationalisation initiatives rather than remaining largely dependent on external funding sources to cover the costs of international programmes. The review of the working visa system for international graduates which is being undertaken is most welcome. The time allowed to recently qualified international students to stay and work in Ireland after completing their studies should be increased.

Support HEIs in Ireland in creating collaborative and mentor links with entrepreneurial HEIs abroad

Individual HEIs or groups of HEIs within Ireland should consider creating strong collaborative and/or mentor links with HEIs abroad, who are advancing and embedding entrepreneurship and innovation within their strategies and practices. There is a role for public policy in facilitating peer learning in a systemic approach rather than single HEIs building their own links.

Introduce a system-wide exercise to document impact of entrepreneurship and innovation in higher education

There are many examples of innovative and impactful teaching and learning and research taking place in Irish HEIs. Information about these needs to be made widely available and such good practice should be replicated and promoted. A national exercise is recommended to document the impact of entrepreneurship and innovation in higher education. This would require a common approach involving all funders and the introduction of a common research classification system and, in as far as possible, an agreed dataset to be collected (with additional indicators where required for particular agencies). This would make it much easier to build a common interface and share data. Mechanisms should be put in place to provide researchers with more capacity in terms of time, resources and administrative support to seek and apply for research opportunities and funding, and document impact. In order to facilitate collaboration and engagement between higher education and enterprise – at the institutional and individual staff levels – review mechanisms and metrics are required to achieve parity of esteem across disciplines, types of activities, and to increase the understanding of impact.

Recommendations for higher education institutions

Expand entrepreneurship education across all disciplines and increase the number of interdisciplinary education activities

Further innovation in teaching and programme delivery should be encouraged, for example through more project-based learning, blended learning, placements and co‐operative models. Entrepreneurship education and training could be offered to all students in more formalised and accredited ways. There is a risk that entrepreneurship education is perceived as a “factory producing start-ups”, with an emphasis on functional dimensions and business planning. Efforts should be increased to organise education activities on creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship, which involve students from different faculties and departments in the form of (optional) interdisciplinary modules throughout the duration of their studies. The organisation of interdisciplinary idea generation workshops, which bring together researchers, students and knowledge users, can be a good starting point for more collaboration across disciplines. To engage staff, a specific award could be introduced for interdisciplinary achievements, such as the development and application of conceptualisations, theories, sources and methods that are drawn from different disciplines in order to define and resolve problems in novel ways.

Expand the number of places available on venture creation programmes, particularly for students and alumni

The expansion of the number of places available on business start-up programmes is recommended given the success of existing programmes and current demand for places, particularly among students. This expansion should also include increased investment in the physical infrastructure used to house new ventures. Opening venture creation programmes to alumni should be considered.

Incentivise and support staff engagement in knowledge exchange and collaboration

Increased prioritisation and investment in staff mobility programmes between academia and the external environment is required. Adjustment of staff contracts and terms and conditions of employment to promote and facilitate such programmes should also be considered. Incentives should be provided within HEIs to enhance enterprise engagement activities as part of the assessment process for promotion. Also, HEIs should increase the number of support staff who can help to spot opportunities and engineer the interdisciplinary and external partnerships.

Enhance collaboration with small and medium-sized enterprises through a single “front door”

Involving small and traditional firms in knowledge exchange activities requires a strategy that provides the partner firm with quick wins (e.g. updating the ICT capacity), as well as a portfolio of follow-up activities that are beneficial for both the firm and the HEI (or the partner academic). Work placements and co-operative learning arrangements, as well as the Regional Skills Fora, are good starting points. Both can help to build the relationships that lead to more transformational, long-term relationships between businesses and HEIs.