Choices and Responsibilities: A Human Centric Approach to University-Industry Knowledge Transfer

The paper reflects on the growing complexities of management education in which business practitioners invite selected academic institutions to develop partnerships for resolving practical challenges and equipping those in the workplace to make more reflective and enlightened choices. European examples from Cambridge and Nottingham illustrate that successful industry and academic collaborations embody long-established themes of mentor-mentee, master-learner relationships. This human centric approach yields personal characteristics for reflective practitioners which enhance innovation, productivity and reputation building. The examples presented in this paper are then placed in a broader university – industry knowledge transfer context, using a so-called ‘bow tie’ model. The authors believe that by shifting the attention from processes to people, from productivity to individual and collective growth and maturity, and by starting to apply the best practices of our human heritage we can make a difference. It is the responsibility of all stakeholders of education to support and contribute to this shift.