Presentation at the 2018 conference, Birmingham UK. “Putting research into policy and practice” The Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) is a network for people and organisations involved in small business and entrepreneurship research, policy, education, support and advice.

1. The Role of a Digital
Hub in University-
Industry Collaboration
Andy Hirst, PhD - Sheffield
Hallam University, UK

2. Presentation
objectives
 Describe the need for more industry – University collaboration in
the digital sector
 Highlight the complexity of developing a digital hub within a
university setting
 Provide an interesting summary of digital developments in Sheffield
City region
 Ask for your help in developing this research and looking for co-
author to support the data analysis.
“Digital technologies are unlike any others – they change everything businesses do…. digital jobs
and activity are becoming ever more important in traditionally non-digital areas of the economy –
from retail to financial services and the public sector.” Geoff Mulgan CEO, NESTA

3. Why Collaborate?
 Digital Tech is not a ‘vertical’, but a ‘horizontal’ industry
 Its affects all industries
 “The digital revolution should be accepted…” IMF June 2018
 Digital transformation is disruptive not incremental
 Curriculum always plays catch-up
 Technology, Skills and Ideas need to come together at pace
 Global race
 Knowledge acquisition is not the game we are playing anymore
“The Triple Helix model is tantalising, because the synergy of university
expertise, matched with the benefit of market access provided by industry,
may provide countries with a global advantage”.

4. Reported
benefits of
collaboration

5. How do we improve
collaboration?
 Reported Barriers
 institutional barriers; culture; transaction costs; intermediaries; formal
knowledge transfer
 Reported success based on
 Spatial Proximity
 Use of intermediaries
 Informal spaces to share ideas
 innovation partnerships “open innovation”
 Network and connectivity
“.. exploratory innovation in firms are, shown to be, best nurtured in collaborative
relationships of strategic partnerships and mutual understanding, rather than an arms’
length interaction beset with tensions, conflict, distrust and culture clash…” Ryan et al
(2018)

6. Digital Hubs?
 Creative Sheffield’s recent report on the Digital Scene recommends, as a solution
to kick start the digital economy in Sheffield, the creation of;
 “hubs within Sheffield for co-working, collaboration, incubation and innovation
that cover the broad spectrum of creative and digital spectrum”
 “targeting business support via incubation and mentorship, alongside accessible
and affordable co-working space that is designed to foster innovation, would
increase the visibility of the digital sector and seed new talent”
 Collaborative enquiry
 Cyber Security, Games Development and Digital Media Sectors within Digital
 Chosen as strategic areas for the faculty

7. Provisional Results
Theme Cyber Media
Games
Dev
General
1 Link students to projects, graduate
opportunities and recruiters
x xxxx x x
2 Access to Blue Chip technology and
demonstrations
xx x
3 A collaborative “real-world” meeting spaces xx xxx x
4 Event and training calendar for community
development
x xxxxxxxx xx
5 Support special interest groups i.e Diversity,
Children, Rehabilitation
x xxx
6 Access to university skills and technology x x x
7 Enable multi-disciplinary commercial
projects
x x
8 Sector specific requirements and space
design
x x x

8. Nuances between sectors
Primary drivers
Games - Culture and environment
Cyber - Training and Development
Media - Talent spotting and widening
engagement

9. Conclusion
 Digital technology is a rapidly developing industry that cuts across
all sectors
 Keeping pace with change is critical for Government, universities
and industry
 Collaboration is essential
 Digital hubs can facilitate collaboration, but we need to be sensitive
to the different needs of each digital sector.

10. References
 https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2018/06/impact-of-
digital-technology-on-economic-growth/muhleisen.htm