Designing a model of an innovative university in relation to society: a strategy for the management and development of fourth-generation universities

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Masoumeh Cham Asemani ¹
• Maghsoud Farasatkhah ²
• Seyed Hamid Khatami ³

¹ Scientific Policy Research Center of the country

² Institute for Research and Planning in Higher Education

³ Mobtakeran Publisher

10.30495/jedu.2024.30396.6093

Abstract

Considering the university's transformational process from the third generation and the so-called entrepreneurial university based on commercialization to the fourth generation in a dynamic connection with the local, regional and national society with the aim of responding to the needs of the civil society, the main purpose of the research is to identify characteristics of the fourth generation university as an innovative one in connection with the society based on the quadruple helix (QH). The research is applied and the data collection method is the sequential mixed method. The main dimensions and elements of an innovative university in relation to society were identified through the content analysis method by studying domestic and foreign scientific articles, as well as the national documents of the higher education system. To validate the obtained conceptual model, the partial least squares technique (PLS) was used in the two science and technology parks affiliated with universities in Iran. All fit indicators of the measurement model (confirmatory factor analysis) and structural model (path analysis) are analyzed in the software (Smart PLS). The final model with 4 cluster categories including inputs, the process of interactions, outputs, and effects, 11 main categories, and 32 components were designed through the coding method based on the systemic approach. Moreover, the good fit of the model in all four category clusters, as well as the general model is confirmed at a strong level (0.755) by calculating the GOF criterion.

Keywords

• Innovative University؛ Social University؛ Fourth generation
• Triple helix؛ Quadruple helix

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