Education can make a more significant contribution to improving the Dutch innovation system than is currently the case. The Education Council would like to ee ‘lectors' at universities and regional education centres (ROCs). They have already been tried and tested within the higher professional education system (HBO). Lectors have been shown to increase the innovative capacity of educational institutions.
25 May 2005
The Education Council envisages a variety of roles for the education system, ranging from ‘implementer' to ‘initiator' of a network. Education also needs to work more closely with businesses and social institutions. It is up to educational institutions themselves to raise their profiles within the region and to adjust their policy to create more space for knowledge development. The government could strengthen innovation policy further still. For instance, by offering financial incentives, in the form of cooperation between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and by helping educational institutions to exchange know-how.
Tailored solutions
The vocational and adult education sector should introduce innovation clusters, each led by a coordinating teacher. The higher professional education (HBO) sector should participate more actively in innovation networks. It should also take on a regional role. Lectors in higher professional education should be more active externally and add the innovation clusters to the existing knowledge clusters. The research universities (WO) could do more by using research and research outcomes to develop more intensive contacts with businesses and with social organisations.
Inject innovation funding directly in education
The Education Council believes that part of the innovation funding released under the 2005 Easter Agreement should go straight to educational institutions. They could use this to further build on the innovation clusters and the associated lector posts. Furthermore, the Minister could ensure that education is given more attention by the Innovation Platform. This could be achieved, for instance, by the creation of an education and innovation working group to specifically deal with the role of education in innovation.