The nine month period covering the first review has consisted of setting up the structures and processes to support the successful implementation of the project, conducting several literatures reviews and developing an Industry Engagement Strategy. An External Advisory Board and Researcher Panel was set up to provide expert input throughout the project
1. Literature review of institutional practice
A European wide literature review was carried out of existing literature with regard to understanding what is known about how institutions collaborate and interact with business and employers.
Key findings include:
• The institutional engagement with industry has been a key priority for the European Union for some time.
• Although the barriers are generally well understood, there is still need for practical actions in fostering the engagement of research institutions with industry.
• Related national initiatives can facilitate these interactions and could include cross-sector collaborative programmes, targeted funding to develop individuals, overarching services and networks that help or advise researchers or those who support them, financial incentives for companies to employ doctoral graduates.
2. Literature review of employers’ needs
A European wide literature review was undertaken exploring and identifying employers' needs with respect to intersectoral mobility and employability of researchers and research collaborations with academia.
Key findings include:
• There is only limited involvement of industry in discussions on how all actors can best profit from intersectoral mobility and stronger interaction with academia.
• A case can be made for a comprehensive survey to identify requirements of the non-academic/business sector at European level, also as a means to support a stronger involvement of industry in the “European HR policy” discourse
• While a scarcity of literature is observed in particular in terms of cross-national comparisons, the sources identified paint a quite similar picture of opportunities and challenges for intersectoral mobility across Europe and emphasise the importance of transferable competencies for researchers
• Internships, intersectoral doctoral programmes, such as the Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions are examples of schemes that support early exposure of researchers to the non-academic sector and thus foster the development of transferable competencies and intersectoral mobility
• A ‘communication triangle’ approach involving senior academics/supervisors, external employers and researchers should be considered to sustainably support intersectoral mobility
3. Literature review of researchers’ views and experiences
A European wide literature review of researchers’ views and experiences has been completed, drawing from both academic studies and a variety of grey literature and other sources with relevance to this topic.
Key findings include:
• Perception of researchers is that intersectoral mobility is low, but more common in arts, social sciences and humanities
• Intersectoral mobility is more common when there are funded schemes to enable it; however, it is much less common than international mobility
• There is little published research on researchers’ experiences of intersectoral mobility, however it seems that it is easier to move to and from the public sector, than the private sector
• The different cultures in academia and private sector mitigate against mobility including a lack of understanding of the skills developed by the other sector and different perceptions of excellence
• The different motivations provide barriers, for example academia perceives the private sector as only interested in commercial success, whilst academia focusses on knowledge development and time in industry reduces the ability of researchers to publish papers
• In academia security of employment increases with length of experience and progression mitigating mobility by senior researchers.
Development of an Industry Engagement Strategy
The Industry Engagement Strategy is designed to provide a structured approach to the engagement of key stakeholders in the project and effective dissemination of the project results through employer networks. Given the diversity of employers across Europe, we will use their own networks to engage them in the project through surveys and workshops and to encourage them to engage with the EURAXESS portal and network.
