ABSTRACT

In a knowledge-based economy, universities are vital institutions. This volume explores the roles that universities can play in peripheral regions, contributing to processes of regional economic development and innovative growth.

Including a series of case studies drawn from Portugal, Norway, Finland, the Czech Republic, Estonia and the Dutch-German border region, this will be the first book to offer a comprehensive comparative overview of universities in European economically peripheral regions. These studies seek to explore the tensions that arise in peripheral regions where there may not be obvious matches between university activities and regional strengths.

Aimed at academics, policy-makers and practitioners working on regional innovation strategies, this volume brings a much-needed sense of realism and ambition for all those concerned with building successful regional societies at the periphery of the knowledge economy.

chapter 2|13 pages

Universities and neo-endogenous peripheral development

Towards a systematic classification

chapter 3|15 pages

Towards a strategic alignment

Regional challenges and university tensions in peripheral geographies

chapter 4|17 pages

University roles in a peripheral Southern European region

Between traditional and ‘engaged’ roles through the provision of knowledge intensive business services

chapter 5|18 pages

‘Strange bird’

A peripheral university college in a complex, peripheral region

chapter 7|18 pages

Vysočina region

From a remote rural region straight into the virtual world

chapter 8|17 pages

Usti region

Learning hard about industry modernisation

chapter 9|18 pages

Higher education institutions at the periphery of the periphery

Creating sustainable economic development in Estonia

chapter 11|17 pages

Constructing regional resilience in a knowledge economy crisis

The case of the Nokia-led ICT industry in Tampere