Successful Universities towards the Improvement of Regional Competitiveness : ‘Fourth Generation’ Universities

Nowadays several successful examples prove that universities have a quite intense role in the improvement of competitiveness of certain territories and in many cases they have an active role in endeavors regarding economic development. Modern economic development demands that due to the increased social and economic commitments the traditional (education and research) activities of the universities should broaden. To be able to exploit their optimal potential regarding economic development, high quality education is a necessary but not sufficient factor. High-standard research and the adaptation of research outputs by the local economy are also necessary. Through this the competitiveness of enterprises will increase that may result in the increase of competitiveness in the region. However, these processes and effects improve the competitiveness of a certain territory through direct or indirect, mainly complex transposals. These processes and effects may vary in case of regions with different competitiveness.The goal of this study is to review and systematize the active and passive activities of universities that serve the improvement of regional competitiveness. We explore the success factors, "bricks” with which we can characterize the internationally successful universities that have significant impact on local economic development