University-company-government interaction models and mechanisms: Challenges for colombian universities

Abstract

The interactions between universities and the environment have been studiedin recent decades, especially in the new economy’s context, where knowledge istaken as a strategic factor to generate wealth and universities as the organizationsthat must produce it. The purpose of this paper is to make a literary reviewof the main models and mechanisms of interaction between universities andthe environment in order to identify some of the challenges for universitiesin Colombia. This review was conducted on secondary sources, particularlyscientific databases, and the results showed that these models and mechanismstend to homogenize, applying indistinctly in the particular contexts of each region,showing positive results, especially in the United States and other industrializedcountries. On the other hand, they show strong ideological differences andlimitations in the interactions between the different actors, as well as in thescientific, technological and innovational skills in developing countries, likeColombia. Some of the challenges faced by Colombian universities have todo with the challenge of increasing their research capacities, as well as theiraccumulation and transfer of knowledge, improving their intellectual propertypolicies and building their own interaction model, based on their internalcapabilities and the context in which they are immersed.