A Decision-making Pattern for University-industry Collaboration Considering the Diversity in Mechanisms and External Players

University industry collaboration provides a sound context for university to become an entrepreneurial university; good understanding about relevant industrial players and collaboration mechanisms is a prerequisite. The diversity of partners and mechanism of industrial cooperation which university may approach to play its role in the national innovation system, highlights the importance of prioritizing the partner-mechanism choices. This research suggests a method for recognizing the priorities of industrial cooperation from the university perspective which leads to focus the required planning and preparations. This method begins with identification of university-industry collaboration mechanisms, key players and selection criteria; after recognition of effective combinations of mechanism-partner as decision choices using Delphi, the choices would be prioritized using a combination of DEMATEL and VICOR decision making methods. Applying this method for evaluating the industrial communications of Iran University of Science and Technology, demonstrates that "research services and contracts" is the most important mechanism and "manufacturing and service companies" as well as "public and state organizations" are the main partners of the university. Further, "spin-offs" and "joint research centers" are in the second priority with considerable capacities to accelerate university's movement toward an entrepreneurial university.