University–SME collaboration: How trust turns first contact into repeat engagement

Universities and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) experience and approach collaboration differently. 

Most university–SME relationships do not start with a formal partnership plan. Universities, can sometimes focus on larger collaboration models from the start, whether formal agreements, funding applications, or broader partnership discussions For many SMEs, the first question is simple: can this university help me with something that matters now? That first step could be a conversation after an event, a founder with a technical question, a student project, a thesis placement, a consultancy-style exchange, or an introduction through an alumnus, industry cluster, or local intermediary.  

If university–SME collaboration is to become more common and more effective, both sides need to pay closer attention to how the relationship actually starts. 

Most SMEs do not begin with “partnership” in mind 

A SME usually approaches a university with something specific or urgen. It may need help with a product challenge, a technical uncertainty, filling a skills gap, a funding opportunity, a testing need, or access to expertise it does not have internally. 

That starting point is important. The company is often looking for a credible first step, not a fully articulated multi-year partnership from day one. 

This is where a well-intentioned mismatch can begin. Universities may want to show the full range of support available and make the most of early interest. But in doing so, they can offer more than the SME is ready to engage with at that moment. The company may not yet need the whole university. It may need a relevant person, a manageable route, and a practical next step. 

Our research shows that early-stage engagement is often informal, light-touch, and problem-led. It may not look strategically significant at first. But these first interactions are often where future collaboration becomes possible. The first step does not need to be large. It needs to be useful. 

The beginning should feel easy to enter 

SMEs should not have to navigate the full complexity of a university before a relationship can begin. The more universities can translate that complexity into a clear first step, the easier collaboration becomes. 

For SMEs, the early experience of collaboration is shaped by very practical questions. Who do I contact? Will they understand what I need? How long will it take to get a response? What will this cost? Will I be passed between departments? Is this worth my time? 

If those questions are not answered quickly, interest can fade before collaboration even begins. 

There are four key principles that make early contact between universities and SMEs more effective. As shown in the infographic below, strong first engagement should be easy to understand, low risk, grounded in a concrete need, and open-ended enough to allow the relationship to develop naturally over time.

Early value matters more than early scale 

Universities often want SME collaboration to grow. That ambition makes sense, especially when institutions are trying to build stronger innovation ecosystems and increase societal and economic impact. But at the start of the relationship, the priority should not be scale. It should be early value. 

For SMEs, the first interaction carries real weight. A small but well-managed engagement can show that the university is responsive, practical, and worth returning to. A slow or confusing experience can have the opposite effect, even when the people involved are committed and helpful. 

Early value can take many forms: a clear answer to a technical question, an introduction to the right researcher, a student project that gives the company new insight, or a short consultancy assignment that helps the firm decide whether a larger project is worth pursuing. 

These outcomes may look modest from the university’s perspective, but for SMEs they reduce uncertainty. They show that collaboration is possible, manageable, and relevant. 

This is where trust begins to form. It is built when the university responds quickly, routes enquiries effectively, communicates clearly, keeps the process proportionate, and follows through. When this happens, repeat engagement becomes easier: the SME knows who to contact, the university better understands the company’s context, and expectations become clearer. 

Many valuable SME relationships stabilise here. They may not become formal strategic partnerships, but they can become repeat applied engagements that are trusted, useful, and manageable. 

Design for return, not just entry  

Universities often focus on how to attract SMEs. That remains important, but it is only part of the challenge. The stronger design question is: what would make an SME want to come back? 

This shifts attention from outreach to experience. Was the first interaction easy to start? Was the value clear? Was the process proportionate? Did the SME know what could happen next? Was the relationship handled in a way that made future engagement simple? 

Designing for return requires continuity. Trust does not sustain itself automatically across repeated interactions. It often depends on people who can hold the relationship together as it moves between teams, academics, services, or opportunities. 

This is where boundary-spanning professionals play a key role. They act as a clear human entry point into the university, help SMEs find the right expertise, preserve context between interactions, and prevent relationships from stalling internally. 

For SMEs, this continuity is important. A company should not feel as if it is starting again every time it speaks to a different part of the university. Boundary-spanning roles help make the institution feel more coordinated, responsive, and human. 

Make the beginning feel possible 

The first interaction is not just an entry point. It is a test of whether the university is usable. 

The shift universities need to make is simple: start small, make the first step meaningful, keep the process proportionate, preserve the relationship across interactions, and make it easier for SMEs to return.

If universities want deeper SME collaboration, these first interactions are where it starts.

Ready for more?

Building trust with SMEs is only the beginning. Once early interactions start delivering value, universities face a new challenge: creating the conditions for collaboration to grow and endure.

• Building strategic and sustainable university–industry partnerships explores how universities can move from one-off engagements to long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships through trust, alignment and shared value.
• Why universities struggle to collaborate with SMEs — and what to do about it examines the structural barriers that often prevent SME collaboration from taking off and provides practical guidance on designing engagement models that fit SME realities.

Jose Villagran-Polo (author) is the Deputy Manager R&D Projects at UIIN and works on topics related to university-business collaboration, entrepreneurial education and the role of university-based incubators in their regions.
Luca Barbera (author) is a Project Officer at UIIN. His work encompasses a broad spectrum of research topics, including sustainability, deep tech, engagement practices for universities and academics, with a particular emphasis on the valorisation of results