The future of university–industry collaboration: scenario analysis based on case of Estonia

Rapidly evolving technological solutions and the demand for them are forcing industries to become more knowledge-intensive. Developed countries have mostly embraced this idea and are aiming to establish a knowledge-intensive economy (KIE). However, such a direction requires considerable accumulation of knowledge, which is why knowledge transfer and university–industry (U-I) collaboration is seen as a critical premise for success. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, to forecast the future of the KIE via scenario analysis, where U-I collaboration is a dominant practice. Second, to use this forecast as a basis for providing policy suggestions. The results imply that sustaining free-market competition is one of the crucial elements of the legislative framework that would support the development of a technology dependent society as is a sustainable knowledge transfer system via U-I collaboration.