Identify factors affecting university-industry relations

Since 1970s, the world witnessed the accelerator in technological and organizational innovation, knowledge has become a strategic asset and a key factor of development. University-industry relations have a long history, especially in developed countries. The aim of this study was to identify factors affecting university-industry relations in Ilam’s SMEs. This study is exploratory approach and application-development. In qualitative research methods, statistical population, all the experts and professors in academia and industry who are aware about the relationship between university and industry, and they were interviewed. Through individual interviews with 30 experts and masters and through purposeful sampling and snowball method, the most important factors and elements that affect the relationship between industry and academia were identified. At the end, 27 factors identified were classified in four categories. According to interviews conducted with managers of SMEs and masters in university of Ilam, both communities had mentioned the relationship had very low level of because of these factors. According to interviews conducted in the relationship between universities and industry and the wide range of these interviews, along with taking into consideration all the comments the 11 factors in the university sector and 16 effective factors in the industrial sector with a high percentage taking comments were collected, identified and classified.