Running The Marathon
William Cowan, Robin Cowan & Patrick Llerena
#2008-014
Over the twentieth century universities in the industrialized world have
evolved from being "universities of culture" to "universities of
innovation." Policy makers and universities themselves see their one of
their major roles as supporting industrial innovation and thus economic
growth. We argue that this rests on a mis-cconception of the nature of
innovation and the value of universities. We argue that a more
appropriate function for this institution is as the "university of
reflection" where scholarship and truth-seeking are the ultimate goals.
JEL codes: O31 O33 O38 Z0
Keywords: innovation; role of universities; university-industry
relations
UNU-MERIT Working Papers
ISSN 1871-9872
