Higher Education for Smart Specialisation: A Handbook (Version 2.0)

The Higher Education in Smart Specialisation (HESS) project has been developed in collaboration with DG Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (EAC) since 2016 and seeks to engage stakeholders from Higher Education in regional development processes and regional innovation ecosystems to ensure places contribute to local and broader European growth and transformation. This Handbook is the result of more than four years of analysis and cooperation with regions on how Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) can contribute to the design and implementation of Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3), as part of the 'Higher Education for Smart Specialisation' (HESS) project. The first edition of this handbook was published in October 2018. This learning journey has since continued and is now entering a new phase, with a new EU multiannual financial framework for the period 2021- 2027, new policy priorities and new funding instruments. In particular, Smart Specialisation is evolving, with a new enabling condition for the good governance of smart specialisation with seven fulfilment criteria aimed at enhancing the refinement and implementation of S3. Higher Education and human capital more generally can play an important role in meeting these criteria. Against this background, it is clearly time for a second edition of the handbook. This new edition retains the core aim of supporting both regions and HEIs in the implementation of smart specialisation and the effective dissemination and application of knowledge through cooperation as well as the supply of high-quality human capital. It also builds on the valuable guidance presented in the first edition, supplemented by new evidence and analysis to support understanding of and alignment with the new criteria. As with the first edition, this Handbook has been informed largely by the HESS case studies but this updated version is based upon further knowledge co-created with regions and HEIs and takes on board feedback from both national and regional authorities as well as HEIs.