Bridges to the Future – The Case of Business Mill

Abstract

Higher education institutions are no longer just centers disseminating knowledge - they are increasingly active players in regional development. Community engagement in higher education means an interactive relationship where the institution, students, businesses, and the local community build a sustainable future together. This commitment is particularly evident in business collaboration, which provides tangible benefits for both the school and the region. There are many good examples of cooperation between higher education institutions and the region in South Karelia, but this study deals with the business incubator Business Mill. The purpose of the study was to describe the South Karelian model of community commitment to education, in this case, entrepreneurship education. This study was an explanatory case study. The theoretical part described the Triple Helix collaboration model, which should be favored in cooperation between regions and higher education institutions. In addition, the current state of the region's R&D cooperation was described in the theoretical part. The theoretical part was compared to the description of the operation of Business Mill, the subject of the case study, and the results of the comparison were presented in the summary. Community commitment to higher education creates a positive spiral: The region develops when knowledge and innovations are utilized locally. The higher education institution strengthens when it acts as an active player in society and attracts students who want to make a change. Students benefit when they get meaningful learning experiences and better readiness for working life. The results show that a comprehensive business incubator can be an effective way to organize cooperation between the region and the higher education institution and increase commitment. The results also showed that a named expert, who agilely combines the expertise of the higher education institution and the needs of the company, improves the quality of cooperation and facilitates communication. As an explanatory case study, this study does not aim to create new theory but to describe the current situation, its possible successes, and challenges. In South Karelia, a municipal-funded business incubator has been implemented in collaboration with a higher education institution with good results since 2018, now the results of the study show that similar commitment and cooperation would also be beneficial in building R&D cooperation.