Universities have a decisive role in the development of the knowledge economy – they are where intellectual capacity is concentrated, along with the skills to create new knowledge which, once transferred to society and industry, will change and develop it. At a workshop at Riga Technical University (RTU), the heads of Latvia's science universities and its art and culture colleges are meeting the leadership of the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Economics, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health to explore what the higher education institutions' "business portfolio" can offer to the development of the national economy, and to jointly generate ideas for considerably closer cooperation between higher education and industry. The event was attended by the Rector of the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LBTU) Irina Arhipova and LBTU Vice-Rector for Science Gatis Vītols.
Without reforms, the growth potential of Latvia's economy is around 2.5% a year, according to an assessment carried out by Latvijas Banka. Growth can be fostered by making fuller use of labour reserves, investing in capital growth and acquiring new knowledge that allows labour and capital to be used more efficiently, notes Finance Minister Arvils Ašeradens. He stresses that universities perform five fundamentally important functions – they accumulate knowledge; they create knowledge so that society can develop and flourish better; they transfer knowledge to the new generation, which enters the economic and social space with new knowledge and changes society; and they transfer knowledge into society and the economy. "As a society, we lack the fundamental knowledge of how to move forward. Knowledge is the only way for a society to agree on a single concept of development and to implement it, and universities are the only ones capable of creating new knowledge," Ašeradens stresses.
Minister of Education and Science Anda Čakša likewise stresses the role of universities in the national economy, noting that the changes to higher education funding and governance models are aimed at shaping universities as centres that also provide public administration and policymakers with ideas and help in defining future challenges, and that clearly point to problems that may not yet even be visible, so that solutions can be found proactively.
She is echoed by Jānis Salmiņš, Deputy State Secretary for Human Capital Management and Macroeconomic Development at the Ministry of Economics, who affirms that the role of universities as knowledge leaders must grow. Examination results in the exact sciences are a clear signal of risks to the future economy and to the scope for raising the country's competitiveness, he stresses. Health Minister Hosams Abu Meri, meanwhile, alongside the need to promote economic growth, urges that the role of science in developing a socially and physically healthy society not be forgotten. "Without people who are able to work, nothing will develop. For research to advance, and for innovations and the start-ups that would introduce them to emerge, we need physically active and healthy people who are capable of both generating ideas and putting them to use," the minister says.
"The availability of talent, the creation of globally new knowledge, the transfer of intellectual property – these factors determine how attractive the investment environment is," stresses RTU Rector Tālis Juhna, citing the Dutch company Fokker Next Gen N.V. as an example. RTU's scientific excellence in the field of hydrogen is the basis for cooperation between RTU and the Dutch company Fokker Next Gen to build, together with other partners in Latvia, a centre of excellence for hydrogen research and innovation that will provide a platform for cooperation in research, technology development and testing.
Both the science universities – RTU, the University of Latvia (LU), Rīga Stradiņš University and the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LBTU) – and the Latvian Academy of Culture and the Art Academy of Latvia are interested in more intensive cooperation with industry, with the rectors presenting the ministries with their "business portfolios", which show contract research, globally significant research, a substantial contribution to human capital development and an important role in developing the innovation ecosystem by involving industry, existing and emerging start-ups, students and researchers. Yet the statistics remain harsh – investment in research and development (R&D) in Latvia is still among the lowest in the European Union, and while universities' investment in R&D is approaching the international level, private capital investment is critically low. The workforce is more concentrated in low-productivity manufacturing, high value-added sectors are relatively underdeveloped, and high-technology manufacturing lacks both human resources and knowledge.
How can this situation be changed by increasing the role of higher education institutions in Latvia's national economy and growing companies' interest in, and need for, cooperation with higher education and science organisations in creating innovation, thereby achieving a transformation of the economy towards a knowledge economy? To look for solutions, representatives of higher education institutions and ministries are also jointly generating ideas at the workshop for:
- joint talent development by Latvian industry and universities;
- the creation of an engaging model of cooperation between universities and industry;
- legislative changes that could potentially promote technology transfer;
- the development of start-up skills and the development of a start-up "venture fund".
The partners also agree to continue meeting regularly in order to promote knowledge transfer into society and industry and to develop the Knowledge Mile which, according to LU professor and Chair of the Board of the think tank LaSER Daunis Auers, is an opportunity that is unique in the Nordic countries but so far entirely untapped. To make use of the potential of the Knowledge Mile, there are plans to create a platform that will ensure regular dialogue between higher education institutions and public administration.