A Network-Based Model for Simulating Regional Transformation Driven by University-Enterprise Collaboration

Knowledge creation is essential to encourage regional development especially for areas in regional transition. The positive impact of university-enterprise cooperation on the process has been extensively discussed in previous studies, but a comprehensive picture of the mechanism has not been fully described, such as how academic researches promote practical projects. Modeling this complex nature has been dealt and required by both academia and planner. Toward this target, we propose an empirically founded agent-based model to demonstrate the collaborative network. It uses the literature and patents created in each project as a basis for measuring regional knowledge production and innovation. Based on the analysis of the observed data, a conceptual model of network-based university-enterprise cooperation was constructed with the help of NetLogo. It will simulate the whole process from academic research to industrial practice to explore the driving mechanism of universities for regional knowledge production and innovation. The collaborative network of practice projects is constructed from the partnership data of every project recorded within the REVIERa platform, where each node in the network was classified into fields of research. Knowledge was quantified by metrics such as the quantity and quality of literature. Based on the various characteristics of nodes, networks and their path dependencies, the birth of innovative projects will be simulated and the impact of interdisciplinary on regional transformation will be quantified in the model. The model is based on the real world data and corroborated with it to capture the mechanism and characteristics of this complex process, showing its value to boost the scientific regional planning in the future.