Three amazing days in Barcelona at the 2014 University-Industry Interaction Conference!

From the 23rd to 25th of April the University Industry Innovation Network (UIIN) and the Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP) organised the 2014 University-Industry Interaction Conference in Barcelona, Spain. 342 representatives from Higer Education Institutions, business and intermediaries from 52 countries came together for this three day event to discuss and share information on university-industry interaction. With keynote speakers such as Carl Schramm (former Kauffman Foundation president) and Keld Laursen (Professor for Innovationa at Copenhagen Business School), the conference brought together some of the key thought leaders active in research and practice.

The conference highlighted both academic and practice through its academic and practitioner tracks as well as the good practice case studies. In addition to track sessions, the conference featured skill development workshops (hosted by EADA Barcelona Business School, HEInnovate and the Science-to-Business Marketing Research Centre), a tour of the Barcelona Science Park and Horizon2020 and Erasmus+ meetings.

The event also provided a wide variety of networking opportunities, with a networking drink at the beach of Barcelona, networking sessions in a lounge setting at the conference, to the highlight at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya with a champage reception overlooking Barcelona, following a dinner in La Cúpula.

In addition to providing all participants with the opportunity to network prior to the event, gain new knowledge, insights and friends during the event, we also believe in creating a long lasting outcome. Therefore we will soon publish all conference materials, incl. photos, presentations, abstracts and papers which will be made available to all participants and UIIN members. In addition in the upcoming weeks the editors of the special issue journals will select papers for publication in the associated journals, there will be a publication of the conference proceedings and of the good practice case studies (in the UIIN Good Practice Series).

We would like to thank all participants, keynote speakers, track and workshop moderators, presenters, partners and sponsors of the conference for contributing to the success of the 2014 University-Industry Interaction Conference.

We look forward to welcoming you to the 2015 University-Industry Interaction Conference. Please keep an eye on www.uiin.org and www.university-industry.com for updates.