The university-community cooperation framework: Science Hub case study
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This article presents a university-community cooperation framework developed and tested through the Science Hub UŁ (SH) pilot project, implemented at the University of Łódź in Poland between October 2022 and October 2024. Funded by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the initiative aimed to strengthen cross-sectoral collaboration by engaging students, academics and external partners such as businesses, public institutions and NGOs in tripartite teams tasked with addressing real-world challenges. A total of 41 collaborative projects were carried out across a range of disciplines including the natural, social and human sciences, with several interdisciplinary and inter-university projects also undertaken.
The article outlines the operational framework, stakeholder engagement strategies and support mechanisms introduced during the project’s implementation, including call for proposals, tailored training, mentoring and communication efforts. The initiative not only enhanced institutional capacity for cooperation but also fostered the development of enduring partnerships, generated new research and educational outputs and contributed to building the university’s societal impact portfolio.
The SH project also addressed the broader national context in which cooperation with the socioeconomic environment is legally mandated and assessed through education and research evaluation systems. By reflecting on the lessons learnt including challenges related to sustainability, recognition of contributors and the need for strategic alignment this article offers practical recommendations for embedding such initiatives within the structures of higher education institutions. It concludes by positioning the SH as a replicable model that can inform similar efforts both in Poland and internationally, especially in contexts seeking to operationalise meaningful university-community engagement.
Article Details
Issue
Section
Authors who submit articles to this journal from 31st March 2014 for publication, agree to the following terms:
a) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share and adapt the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
b) Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
c) Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Open Access Citation Advantage Service). Where authors include such a work in an institutional repository or on their website (ie. a copy of a work which has been published in a UTS ePRESS journal, or a pre-print or post-print version of that work), we request that they include a statement that acknowledges the UTS ePRESS publication including the name of the journal, the volume number and a web-link to the journal item.
d) Authors should be aware that the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) License permits readers to share (copy and redistribute the work in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the work) for any purpose, even commercially, provided they also give appropriate credit to the work, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. They may do these things in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests you or your publisher endorses their use.
For Volume 6 (2013) and before, the following copyright applied:
Articles published by UTSePress are protected by copyright which is retained by the authors who assert their moral rights. Authors control translation and reproduction rights to their works published by UTSePress. UTSePress publications are copyright and all rights are reserved worldwide. Downloads of specific portions of them are permitted for personal use only, not for commercial use or resale. Permissions to reprint or use any materials should be directed to UTSePress.
References
Brocke, J.V., Lippe, S., 2015. Managing collaborative research projects: A synthesis of project management literature and directives for future research. Int. J. Proj. Manag. 33, 1022–1039. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.02.001
Bruneel, J., D’Este, P., Salter, A., 2010. Investigating the factors that diminish the barriers to university–industry collaboration. Res. Policy 39, 858–868. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2010.03.006
Chin, C.M.M., Yap, E.H., Spowage, A.C., 2011. Project Management Methodology for University-Industry Collaborative Projects. Rev. Int. Comp. Manag. 12, 901–918.
Fahy, D., Lewenstein, B., 2021. Scientists in popular culture, Routledge Handbook of Public Communication of Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003039242-3-3
Fernandes, G., O’Sullivan, D., 2023. Project management practices in major university-industry R&D collaboration programs – a case study. J. Technol. Transf. 48, 361–391. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-021-09915-9
Gascoigne, T., Schiele, B., Leach, J., Riedlinger, M., Lewenstein, B.V., Massarani, L., Broks, P. (Eds.), 2020. Communicating Science: A Global Perspective, 1st ed. ANU Press. https://doi.org/10.22459/CS.2020
Lewenstein V. Bruce, 2003. Models of public communication of science and technology. Public Underst. Sci. 1–11.
McLaughlan, R., Lodge, J.M., 2019. Facilitating epistemic fluency through design thinking: a strategy for the broader application of studio pedagogy within higher education. Teach. High. Educ. 24, 81–97. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2018.1461621
Rowland, J., Dzimińska, M., Rubin, A., Estanga, E.G., Diener, L., Vengut-Climent, E., 2024. What do citizens want? Science communication in the eyes of the public, in: How Citizens View Science Communication: Pathways to Knowledge. Routledge, London and New York, pp. 25–51.
Scholz, R.W., 2020. Transdisciplinarity: science for and with society in light of the university’s roles and functions. Sustain. Sci. 15, 1033–1049. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-020-00794-x
University of Łódź, 2021. Strategy of the University of Łódź 2021-2030.
Wycisk, A., Płaszczyca, M., Gajda, M., Modrzejewska, K., 2018. Skuteczna współpraca nauka-biznes w opinii przedsiębiorców. RAPORT. Politechnika Warszawska – Centrum Zarządzania Innowacjami i Transferem Technologii Politechniki Warszawskiej, PL.