Genadiy Kobzev, The Head of TUSUR international cooperation department, was a moderator of the round table discussion. The discussion participants were proposed to answer three questions:

• What is an entrepreneurial university?
• What urges university to become an entrepreneurial one?
• How and with whom do we need to build interaction for university to become entrepreneurial one?

Alexey Stukanov, The Head of international and regional relations department of Tomsk region administration, said that one of the main problems of modern universities in Russia is an absence of ideas commercialization mechanisms. At the same time Tomsk region administration expects that commercialization of innovations will allow improving the quality of life in the region. The Head of department marked that in Tomsk there is a healthy competition among universities: “Every university is a leader in several initiatives, and all the rest take them up”.

Irina Pavlova, Deputy Dean of TUSUR innovation technologies department, highlighted that many universities represent “an ivory tower”, for which scientific research is of high value on its own. Ideas and research results are embodied into products and it is a distinctive feature of an entrepreneurial university.

Frank Rinaldo, Ritsumeikan University Professor, considers that one of the main university tasks is to cooperate with business. “People, who deal with research, should be connected with companies,” says the professor. He thinks that interaction between business and universities should be “a street with two-way traffic”.

Alexandr Uvarov, TUSUR Vice-rector for Innovations and international development, noticed that one of the main revenue sources of world leading universities is the revenues, obtained from research and development activity. That is why a huge budget on these directions is an important feature of an entrepreneurial university. “TUSUR follows an idea of triple helix establishment – a model of universities, business and authorities interaction – for the innovation development. Here the idea of entrepreneurial university is of top significance. In 2011 TUSUR Academic Board accepted the statement that TUSUR is an entrepreneurial university, and it should be reflected in its mission. At the end of September a Declaration on establishment of Association of Entrepreneurial Universities of Russia was signed by Skolkovo Fund and leading universities (The National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics (University ITMO), Moscow institute of physics and technology, National research nuclear university “MIFI”, Tomsk state university of control systems and radio electronics (TUSUR), National research university of science and technology “MISIS”). TUSUR is planning to develop cooperation with Skolkovo Fund for infrastructure and politics support of entrepreneurial activity,” says Alexandr Uvarov.

Thomas Werner, The Parsons New School of Design Head, is sure that entrepreneurs are those who overrun the boarders of usual thinking. New formats, which will allow students “thinking in other way”, should appear in curriculum of the university for it to become an entrepreneurial one. Moreover, students should study management – team, finance, project management etc. All this above mentioned can be organized on the basis of the university and business incubator or within the companies-partners. “It is necessary to provide room in the students’ preparation structure, where students from various departments could work together. It can promote entrepreneurial activity and initiatives increase,” states Thomas Werner.

«The most relevant in entrepreneurial university discussion is to take into account global context,” says Viktor Krysanov, Ritsumeikan University Professor. According to his words, becoming an entrepreneurial university, one should become multicultural and international; have a high level of education internationalization. “And the first that should be taught is technological professions, management goes after it,” considers the professor.

Liana Kobzeva, the Head of Centre of corporate development of TUSUR Innovations institute, presented the results of the study about academia commitment to accept the university entrepreneurial mission, conducted in the framework of the project “Elaboration of technical inquiry for TUSUR corporate culture development”. According to the study results, university academia thinks that today entrepreneurship is not prestigious, connections among subdivisions are poorly developed, and young specialists do not see any career prospects (there are no technologies of career advancement). At the same time academia marks positive features of TUSUR corporate culture: an experience of tackling “impossible” engineering tasks in the frameworks of USSR megaprojects, the activity of several great rectors in the university history, who promoted a breakthrough, development of team sport kinds that in its turn forms the basis for team work in projects and entrepreneurship. TUSUR starts initiatives in many directions and has a “genetic” ability to win and to be the first. TUSUR was founded by young developers (at the moment of the university establishment many department heads and deans were 25−30 years old).

<10>As the result of the study, four priorities, which, according to academia, will contribute to formation of TUSUR as an entrepreneurial university, were distinguished: development of entrepreneurial activity culture, succession of scientific and engineering schools, better performance in Internet, formation of career advancement culture.

<12>Responding to Liana Kobzeva speech, Hideto Ikeda, Ritsumeikan University Professor, highlighted that in Japan university professors also want to deal more actively with research, but not with business. According to Hideto Ikeda, only 5% of students in Japan are ready to establish their own business and more than 90% want to be huge corporations’ employees.

Yuriy Lirmak, Dean of innovation technologies department, is sure that the university main mission is research and knowledge generation.

<14>Frank Rinaldo, Ritsumeikan University Professor, underlined that the students’ desire to be a member of the company or to establish their own company is a peculiarity of the culture, mentality. “In America a risk culture has been formed, and it influences the desire to establish own companies. That is why it is of top priority for Russian students to answer the question – do they want to undertake the risk of establishing own business,” says Frank Rinaldo.

Khseng Ij Chen, Ph.D. student of TUSUR innovation technologies department said during her speech that in Taiwan students prefer establishing companies together with their teachers or, for example, to work in a company after graduation to get experience and then start their own business.

<16>As the result of four days’ dialog, participants decided to make a list of recommendations for partnership improvement and development of dialog between its participants.

Information source: <18>