| Summary: | This article highlights a range of university entrepreneurship activities and regional engagement in relation to current governance and finance issues. A model for networking and developing partnership between universities and their region is presented, which reflects existing and emerging European level policy instruments. This model aims at finding the right balance between competition and collaboration and it takes into account the diversity and stratification of higher education and research systems in different countries. From a regional perspective, the most vital activity seems to be the flow of knowledge from universities to business and society, thereby linking global and local players. In order to achieve a better interaction between universities and industry, the various internal and external governance features have to be studied, as sometimes conflicting forces are at work. Universities will need to realise that different institutions can be complementary to one another. It is also important for them to consider how they can best respond to demands for sustainability and accountability of their own activities within a broader knowledge space. The networking and partnership model drafted here will need to be adapted to existing specific conditions and prevailing institutional and regional characteristics. This is necessary in order to successfully coordinate policy instruments to achieve desirable results. Only then can viable entrepreneurialism and innovation be fostered within individual HEIs, between them, and in their regions
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