Abstract:

Inter-institutional networks become more and more important for today’s organizations [1, 2], and one of the typical examples of such networks is the collaboration between a university and an industry [3]. Viewing these institutions as elements of a single network yields positive results for all the parties. Furthermore, it is very important to implement this model in real life, not only use it as a theoretical model.
The scope of this study is the collaboration between the university providing engineers’ education in the information and communication technology (ICT) field and the ICT industry, as the latter is one of the most developing and innovative industries that can make a positive contribution to the economy.
The purpose of this study is to develop a collaboration model between the university and the ICT industry considering both as an inter-institutional network and to define the feedbacks existing within it in order to improve the network’s overall performance. The model will consist of the following elements: collaborative institutions and persons within the institutions, knowledge and information flows among the model elements, feedbacks among the elements (including control elements existing in the feedbacks), and the direct and indirect collaboration artefacts.
The model will give a possibility to show the way how the university and the industry should collaborate in order to: enable the university’s curriculum to provide students with the knowledge necessary for the industry; enable the industry to provide the university with practical experience and open questions for the further research; enable the university to provide the industry with the results of research for development.
Methods of the research include an analysis of existing research results within the context of collaboration models within inter-institutional networks, knowledge and information flows among the elements of inter-institutional networks, direct and indirect collaboration artefacts, and feedback types and parameters. The analysis of feedbacks allows adjusting to environmental changes, thus providing a positive effect on the entire network. The field work - analysis of the existing collaboration models in Latvia’s education system - will be analysed in order to develop a model suitable for the real situation, so improving the possibility to implement the developed model.



References:
[1] M. J. Hatch, Organization Theory: Modern, Symbolic, and Postmodern Perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press Inc, 1997.
[2] J. H Dyer,.K Nobeoka, “Creating and managing a high-performance knowledge-sharing network: the Toyota case,” Strategic Management Journal, 21: 345-367,2000.
[3] Strazdina R., Kirikova M. and Sukovskis U. Supporting inter-institutional knowledge feedbacks in the context of engineers' educational system. In: Proceedings of International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation ICERI2008, L. G. Chova, D. M. Belenguer, I. C.Torres (Eds.), p.n. 912, 10 p. ISBN: 978-84-612-5091-2

Keywords:

inter-institutional networks, collaboration, interaction model.