At UIIN, we believe universities have the power to shape the world. Thus, UIIN’s purpose is to empower universities to become transformative drivers of change, working towards a world in which academia can effectively collaborate with industry and all other stakeholders in society to tackle global challenges. By fostering effective collaboration between universities and industry, UIIN helps institutions enhance education, research and societal engagement.
Operating from the Science Park in Amsterdam, UIIN has built a global network of over 120 ambitious organisations committed to continuous
learning and best-practice sharing. Its internationally diverse team works to
empower individuals and institutions through research, training, consulting
services and events, all designed to build capacity and enable knowledge
exchange worldwide.
UIIN plays a crucial role in upskilling leaders, academics, and professional staff to navigate the intersection of higher education and industry. Through training programmes, it equips participants with the skills needed to drive university-business cooperation (UBC). Its consultancy services help universities and businesses accelerate partnerships, fostering more entrepreneurial, engaged, and innovative institutions.
Through its programmes UIIN has trained over 130 researchers from universities across the globe to valorise their research, generate impact and enable better career pathways for researchers within or beyond academia.
A highlight in the UIIN calendar is its flagship annual conference, the largest gathering on university-business collaboration in Europe. This event attracts representatives from over 60 countries, providing a unique platform for academics, practitioners, and policymakers to connect and share insights. For over 13 years, this conference has been a pivotal meeting
point for discussing the evolving role of universities in innovation ecosystems.
Beyond its role as a service and knowledge provider, UIIN conducts extensive research for public and private institutions across Europe and beyond. It has contributed to over a dozen large-scale projects for the
European Commission, EIT, GIZ, and various national and regional governments, spanning more than ten countries, including Australia. Its dedicated team of 17 experts has led research and implementation initiatives in entrepreneurial universities, regional development, and university-industry engagement.
One of UIIN’s most notable achievements is conducting the largest European study on UBC. With over 12 years of experience researching engaged universities through large-scale EU projects and independent research initiatives like the Future of Universities Thoughtbook series, UIIN has established its own methodology for institutional transformation. Its framework for the Entrepreneurial and Innovative University© is a testament to this accumulated expertise.
Through its research, training, and consultancy, UIIN continues to shape the future of university-industry collaboration, ensuring that higher education institutions remain at the forefront of innovation and societal impact.
Our role in the project
UIIN leads the ReSkillSpan initiative and coordinates the consortium activities to develop the outcomes of the project. In addition to that, UIIN leads two more work packages within the project, namely the development of the learning framework for researchers and the communication for impact work packages.
Thus, UIIN will coordinate and develop a learning framework for researchers that can be applied to different researcher career stages and
used in a personalised way that matches each researcher’s needs and interests. This framework will build on existing initiatives at the partner institutions and align with the European Commission’s efforts to promote and spread the use of the Competency Framework for Researchers (ResearchComp), contributing to influencing policy around this area at the European level.
As part of the communication for impact work package, UIIN will ensure the promotion and dissemination of project activities, approaches and results to a broader audience, prioritising the target groups of the project and aiming for transferability and replication, so that the ReSkillSpan project generates a multiplier effect that can assist the EU’s efforts around
ResearchComp and enabling better careers for researchers.