University-Industry Collaboration in Digital Innovation Wave: Croatian Academic Perspective

Danijel Carev ()
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Danijel Carev: Libertas International University, Business School

Chapter Chapter 2 in Advanced Technologies in Business, Volume II, 2026, pp 53-79 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract The concept of university-industry collaboration (UIC) has gained widespread interest due to the high degree of innovation and economic growth in the new global competitive environment. High education institutions (HEI) aim to support the industry innovation by creating technological development and research useful for commercialization and competitiveness (Günay, 2021). As technological change accelerates, new opportunities arise particularly with the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The adoption of AI in UIC, holds great potential to revolutionize teaching methodologies, personalize learning experiences and industry cooperation century (World Economic Forum, 2024). This is confirmed by the annual report of The Global Innovation Index (GII) for 2023, where the digital innovation wave represented by AI has the greatest opportunity. However, the same report identified a low level of scientific cooperation between universities and the industrial sector as Croatia’s greatest weaknesses. Assuming that this cooperation can be improved, the main goal of this research was to explore current Croatian academic perspective. The hypothesis was developed indicating the potential of AI for research and collaboration between universities and the industry. The methodological framework included a structured questionnaire that measured respondents’ opinions on a 5-point Likert scale. The target composed 217 respondents including students and teachers involved in professional studies at a private university. In support of the hypothesis five additional research questions were submitted. It was concluded that students and teachers agreed that AI represents potential for research and collaboration. The most important aspects of UIC highlighted student engagement and the exchange of technology and knowledge. Additionally, a chi-square test showed that the distribution of results deviates statistically significant (p

Keywords: University-Industry Collaboration (UIC); Higher Education Institutions (HEIs); Artificial Intelligence (AI); Higher Education in Croatia; Students; Teachers; Private University; The Global Innovation Index (GII); The digital innovation wave; 5-point Likert scale; Online surveys; Professional studies; Google forms; Chi-square test; AI Technology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:pinchp:978-3-032-03492-2_2

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-03492-2_2

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