Vitalizing the Swedish university system: implementation of the ‘third mission’

Universities throughout the world are increasingly experiencing the dual expectations of being anchored regionally by performing more or less specific services to the local or regional community, and operating on a global scale. How those services are actually performed is the object of this study. A division of labor between universities of different backgrounds is found. The study presents the case of two Swedish universities, where each shows proof of distinct trajectories, depending on the history and size of the universities respectively, as well as the characteristics of the regional economies in which they are embedded. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.