Collaborations between industry and higher education institutions (HEIs) are vital for promoting innovation and economic development. This collaboration, known as the 'Triple Helix' includes industry, government and HEIs, emphasizing the essential role of HEIs in fostering innovation by bringing together academia, government, and industry. This chapter explores the role of innovation centers within HEIs. Authors draw attention to Seneca Polytechnic's Innovation Center and HELIX, an innovation and entrepreneurship incubator. Seneca is committed to preparing students for tomorrow's job market, and this led to the creation of Seneca's HELIX; an incubation for innovation, entrepreneurship, and experiential learning, providing resources, mentoring, industry-specific support, an acceleration strand for entrepreneurs and microgrants. The success of Seneca Polytechnic demonstrates how important these centers are in HEIs. They help to ignite innovation, deepen student engagement, foster cross-collaboration between industry and academia, and improve teaching and learning.
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Collaboration between industry and knowledge production organizations has become more necessary for economic growth (Almeida et al., 2022). According to Miller et al. (2016) to drive development, it is essential for the industry to form partnerships with higher education and research institutions.
Enhancing innovation relies heavily on the collaboration between industry and higher education and research institutions referred to as the “Triple Helix”. This cooperative framework involves the industry, government and HEIs, and plays a fundamental role (Miller et al., 2016). According to Raguphaty et al. (2019) by leveraging the expertise and resources of both industry and knowledge production organizations, economic development can be accelerated while also fostering innovation. This emphasizes the increasing significance of HEIs among these actors, in innovation systems (Etzkowitz, 2004, 2013).
HEIs are widely recognized as contributors to the advancement, establishment and continuation of social innovation (Kumari et al., 2019). They are also acknowledged as institutions that play a central role in fostering the capacity for innovation within the society (Saad et al., 2020). Moreover, beyond their contributions to research and education, HEIs are instrumental in driving innovation and sustainable development (Meyer et al., 2018). Existing literature suggests that HEIs play a role, within the National Innovation System through various channels (Saad et al., 2014). Furthermore, HEIs have knowledge repositories that should be successfully utilized to encourage innovation and make its practical application possible. (Ylikoski & Kivelä, 2017). And like Meléndez et al. (2012) stated, for small and medium sized enterprises, HEIs are recognized for their role in facilitating knowledge transfer and exchange.
According to Vaaland & Ishengoma (2016), this collaboration between HEIs and industries is deemed essential for fostering economic development and driving innovation, in addition it helps bridge the gap between academia and industry enabling the transfer of knowledge, skills and technology. By promoting collaboration among HEIs, businesses and civil society, countries can accelerate their progress (Raguphaty et al., 2019).
As innovation centers within HEIs contribute to productive outcomes in multiple ways, as stated by many scholars, they play an important role. These centers often serve as hubs for collaboration between HEIs, communities, businesses and government organizations, and these collaborations foster the development of technologies, products and services. Additionally, these centers provide an environment for research and development activities while facilitating solutions to diverse problems in various industries.
Furthermore, innovation centers offer training programs, workshops and other learning opportunities that help individuals develop critical skills for innovation. They also play a role, in nurturing an innovation culture by providing resources and support to startups, entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs.
Innovation centers within HEIs attract businesses, research activities and investments which again contributes to driving regional economic development. As stated before, these centers foster knowledge exchange and research collaboration between education institutions and industries. However, the specific outcomes can vary depending on factors such as the focus area of the innovation center, the innovation ecosystem at an organizational and regional level, availability of funding and resources as well as the level of collaboration among stakeholders.