Regional Development : Four Perspectives of Interactions of Research and Development in University of Applied Sciences

Abstract

There are three main statutory tasks for universities of applied sciences in Finland: 1) education; 2) research and development; and 3) regional development. In this continuum of research, the overall research question is: How can the regional development task be understood, designed, defined and actualized in UAS? This question would extend to: 1) what are the characteristics of the dynamic and core capabilities in a region; and 2) how the regional capabilities can be linked to the competences, curriculum, related theories, R&D, and creativity activities in context of UAS. In this study, the research question is: how can the regional development be designed and actualized in perspective or collaborative R&D in the UAS? The used research method is a case study analysis. According to three tasks, UASs should work closely with companies and collaborate with the public sector, regional participants and R&D actors. Then, in the focus, there are development efforts that foster regional development and take into account the structure of a region.