ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on perhaps the most important but relatively under emphasized role of universities in economic development – that of the supply, training and mobility of human capital. As this chapter will show, that what industry might need from universities is ‘talent not technology’ (Florida 2002) is increasingly recognized by the European Commission, at the national level in European countries and in the US, and in both continents in individual regions and localities. Evidence for the importance of access to highly skilled people comes from Simmie et al.’s (2002) analysis of innovation in five European cities (Amsterdam, Milan, Paris, Stuttgart and London), which found that, of the 25 reasons why firms would choose to locate the development of a new innovation in their city region, availability of professional experts specializing in technology scored the highest.
