How doctoral students and graduates can facilitate boundary spanning between academia and industry

Abstract

The mobility of scientific competences from universities to industrial firms enables firms to absorb and utilize the knowledge developed in academia. However, too few young doctors are currently employed in industry, despite the fact that they could transfer and integrate valuable academic knowledge for industrial purposes and facilitate its utilization towards commercial ends. In this article, we investigate the role of doctoral students and graduates as academic boundary spanners by presenting three joint programs between universities and industrial players that facilitate and promote the industrial involvement of doctoral students and graduates. The cases highlight the meaning of university–industry collaboration in doctoral education and present practical examples of how industrial firms may facilitate the transfer of academic knowledge to industry through jointly organized doctoral education and postdoctoral mobility programs.