The Chronicle reports on the Eurosclerosis in academic entrepreneurialism. It’s kind of an old message: although many national and university policies have changed to promote technology transfer and commercialisation of scientific research, the traditional research universities on the continent seem not able to make the ‘cultural’ switch. Professors are more interested in their academic publication records than in their profits. In other words: bad news for the European knowledge economies and the Lisbon targets.
On the other hand, it is rather remarkable that most of the European countries have implemented regulations similar to the Bayh-Dole Act in the US, but the countries that have not, like Finland and Sweden are considered the most innovative countries in Europe. The Chronicle does give an explanation for the case of Sweden, but what about this role model of the European innovative welfare state called Finland?