Les nouveaux défis des universités dans l’écosystème entrepreneurial

The new challenges of universities in a regional entrepreneurial ecosystem The University is emerging as a key contributor to the entrepreneurial ecosystem, on the one hand as a result of pressure exerted through public policies to change their status and injunctions to introduce entrepreneurship into the academic programs available to students. On the other hand, due to the need for University to become more involved in regional dynamics with a view to boosting the employability of its graduates. This article examines the ways in which proximities can be managed by universities in order to establish their role as mediators between the academic sphere and the actors involved in the regional economic development. What can be done to facilitate greater proximity and interaction between universities, research laboratories and support structures in order to generate value for their local area ? The results of a qualitative study among the actors of the entrepreneurial accompaniment in Languedoc Roussillon show that the involvement of universities in in creating an organized proximity is a key expectation among stakeholders in the region's entrepreneurial ecosystem, who face a lack of institutional proximity, or even limited geographical proximity to university resources. The creation of organized proximity requires then cooperation and partnerships which are today far from being the norm.