Universities and local economic development: The case of Linköping

With the increasing focus by policy‐makers on links between industry and academic institutions, universities have become important for local economic development in generating new and applied knowledge which can be used by indigenous high‐technology industry. As a number of studies have demonstrated, the stimulation of small technology‐based firms is one of the more relevant methods of undertaking efficient technology transfer from university to industry. This paper examines an example of this type of technology transfer in the Linköping region of Sweden, looking at the relationship between SMIL (a local association of small technology‐based firms) and the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) at Linköping University. The conclusion that can be drawn in the case of CIE‐SMIL is that a university, through a policy and strategy of delegating various tasks to smaller internal departments with focused activities, can successfully devote itself to external activities.