The triple helix of university-industry-government relations is an internationally recognised model for understanding entrepreneurship, the changing dynamics of universities, innovation and socio-economic development. For more than two decades, a series of international conferences under an umbrella international association, the Triple Helix Association (www.triplehelixassociation.org), has provided a venue for scholars and practitioners from Latin America, Europe, North America, Australia and Asia to exchange ideas and experiences. The London event in 2012 attracted more than 300 participants from 35 countries.
The triple helix thesis is that the interaction among university-industry-government is the key to improving conditions for innovation in a knowledge-based society. The significance of universities and other knowledge-producing institutions to other institutional spheres is enhanced in an increasingly knowledge-based society. Industry is a member of the triple helix as the locus of production, government as the source of contractual relations that guarantee stable interactions and exchange, and universities as a source of new knowledge and technology, the generative principle of knowledge-based economies.
The triple helix model has been developed by Prof Henry Etzkowitz (www.triplehelix.net) and Prof Loet Leydesdorff (www.leydesdorff.net/th2/). Etzkowitz explains that “the Triple Helix Association offers an international platform to bridge theoretical and practical aspects underpinning university-industry-government relations and their practical achievements, thus enhancing networking and collaboration as well as knowledge generation, development and spillover”. This year, the XII Triple Helix International Conference will take place from September 11-13 2014 in Tomsk, Russia. The conference is organised by the international Triple Helix Association, TUSUR University, and the Association of Russian Entrepreneurial Universities.
The conference “The triple Helix and innovation-based economic growth: new frontiers and solutions” is focused on the search for new sources of economic growth, balancing employment, productivity, efficiency and quality of life.
Associated publications include:
- Helice, the THA quarterly magazine, offers a showcase for informal articles and is distributed to scholars, practitioners and policymakers, with an audience of more than 1,500 readers.
- The working papers series provides early dissemination end feedback to authors while papers are in review or before publication.
- The recently established Triple Helix Journal: a Journal of University-Industry-Government Innovation and Entrepreneurship (THJ), is an open-access journal published by Springer, to disseminate research in all aspects of university-industry-government interactions. See call for contributions.
The association also sponsors special events (workshops, webinars) in order to maintain dialogue, disseminate fresh knowledge and cases, and enhance peer-learning processes. A new webinar series opens on May 29, as an introduction to triple helix models and practices.
The Triple Helix Association is open to both individual members (researchers, students and practitioners) and organisational members (universities and affiliated units, research institutions, incubators, science parks, TTOs and Technopoles, governmental institutions and private consulting firms) involved in the triple helix interaction debate.
Join us at www.triplehelixassociation.org/membership