Supporting Measures for Research & Development as a Stimulus for Technology Transfer and Academic Entrepreneurship in Estonia

The main aim of the article is to emphasise the need for governmental support in the process of building knowledge-based economy. The authors focus on the knowledge creating process in the form on R&D activities and also on entrepreneurial process, mostly in participation with universities. That means an analytical description of the survey provided by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications of Estonia, outlining the major barriers to this process, proposes the main directions for development through business development of innovative and knowledge-based companies and also the survey conducted in Tallinn University of Technology about academic entrepreneurship. The authors are going to analyse companiesí cooperation with universities for better utilisation of their R&D possibilities, entrepreneurial attitude of universities and also to find out possibilities how further activate the stronger cooperation with universities in Estonia for better collaborative research. On the contrary, university as a partner for entrepreneurs is getting the possibilities to enhance the awareness of science-intensive entrepreneurship.