University-industry-government relations of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) universities: The perspective of the mutual information

Research on the mechanism of government-industry-university-research collaboration for cultivating innovative talent based on game theory

The assessment of colleges' effectiveness heavily relies on the employment status of graduates. Government-industry-university-research (GIUR) collaboration in cultivation talent is the key to improving the employment rate of college graduates. Based on the theoretical framework of the triple helix, this study develops a tripartite evolutionary game model that encompasses government, enterprises, and university research institutions. The research findings indicate (1) the evolutionary convergence of strategies among the subjects of the three-party game. (2) The attainment of a stable ideal evolution state for (1,1,1) is possible when the requisite conditions are met. This suggests that the cultivation of aligned talent in GIUR collaborations should coordinate the interests of various stakeholders. (3) Drawing inspiration from parameter-sensitive simulation, the problem of mismatch between talent cultivation and social demand can be effectively addressed through measures such as reducing the cost of cooperation, balancing the distribution of benefits, and implementing appropriate reward and punishment mechanisms. In response to these implications, we put forward some management insights and suggestions.

Q&A participation and behavioral patterns on academic social networking sites: a comparative study of academic, corporate and government institutions on ResearchGate

Purpose

This paper aims to explore question and answer (Q&A) participation and behavioral patterns on academic social networking sites (ASNSs) from the perspective of multiple subjects such as academic, corporate and government institutions.

Design/methodology/approach

Focused on the Q&A service of ASNSs, this study chooses ResearchGate (RG) as the target ASNS and collects a large-scale data set from it, involving a sample of users and a Q&A sample about academic, corporate and government institutions. First, it studies the law of Q&A participation and the distribution of the type of user according to the sample of users. Second, it compares question-asking behavior and question-answering behavior stimulated by questions among the three types of institutions based on the Q&A sample. Finally, it discusses the Q&A participation and behavioral patterns of the three types of institutions in academic Q&A exchanges with full consideration of institutional attributes, and provides some suggestions for institutions and ASNSs.

Findings

The results show that these three types of institutions generally have a low level of participation in the Q&A service of RG, and the numbers of questions and answers proposed by institutional users conform to the power-law distribution. There are differences in Q&A participation and Q&A behavioral patterns among academic, corporate and government institutions. Government and academic institutions have more users participating in the Q&A service and their users are more willing to ask questions, while corporate institutions have fewer users who participate in the Q&A service and their users are inclined to provide answers. Questions from corporate institutions attract much more attention than those from the other two types of institutions.

Originality/value

This study reveals and compares the Q&A participation and the behavioral patterns of the three types of institutions in academic Q&A, thus deepening the understanding of the attributes of institutions in the academic information exchange context. In practice, the results can help guide different institutions to use the Q&A service of ASNSs more effectively and help ASNSs to better optimize their Q&A service.

Direct from the COVID-19 crisis: research and innovation sparks in Brazil

Background

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has spread throughout more than 160 countries, infecting millions of people worldwide. To address this health emergency, countries have organized the flow of production and innovation to reduce the impact on health. This article shows the response of the Brazilian scientific community to meet the urgent needs of the public unified health system [SUS], aiming to guarantee universal access to an estimated population of 211 million. By December 2020, Brazil had recorded more than six million cases and approximately 175,000 deaths.

Methods

We collected data on research, development and innovation projects carried out by 114 public universities (plus Oswaldo Cruz Foundation [Fiocruz] and Butantan Institute), as reported on their websites. Additionally, we examined the studies on COVID-19 approved by the National Comission for Research Ethics, as well as those reported on the Ministry of Education website as of May 15, 2020.

Results

The 789 identified projects were classified according to research categories as follows: development and innovation (n = 280), other types of projects (n = 226), epidemiologic research (n = 211), and basic research on disease mechanisms (n = 72). Most proposals focused on the development and innovation of personal protective equipment, medical devices, diagnostic tests, medicines and vaccines, which were rapidly identified as research priorities by the scientific community. Some promising results have been observed from phase III vaccine trials, one of which is conducted in partnership with Oxford University and another of which is performed with Sinovac Biotech. Both trials involve thousands of volunteers in their Brazilian arms and include technology transfer agreements with Fiocruz and the Butantan Institute, respectively. These vaccines proved to be safe and effective and were immediately licensed for emergency use. The provision of doses for the public health system, and vaccination, started on January 17, 2021.

Conclusions

The mobilized Brazilian scientific community has generated comprehensive research, development and innovation proposals to meet the most urgent needs. It is important to emphasize that this response was only possible due to decades of investment in research, development and innovation in Brazil. We need to reinforce and protect the Brazilian science, technology and innovation system from austerity policies that disregard health and knowledge as crucial investments for Brazilian society, in line with the constitutional right of universal health access and universal health coverage.