Implementation of the 'triple helix' model in innovation ecosystem of Ukraine

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of the interaction between Universities, industry, the state, and scientific institutions in Ukraine in context of the implementation of "triple helix" model of the innovation management. This model ensures the successful and efficient processes of the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements. International comparative analysis has been presented, which showed that Ukraine is significantly behind the world trends in the development of interaction between higher educational institutions, industry, the state, and scientific institutions in this context. It is shown that Ukrainian stakeholders of the linear innovation cycle have a low level of cooperation that determines the low final economic results and effectiveness of the national innovation ecosystem, despite some progress in the intermediate stages of the innovation cycle. The presented statistical analyses demonstrate that fundamental scientific potential of Ukrainian Universities has been very poorly transformed into innovative industrial designs and in relevant commercialized innovative products. This lack is also due to objective reasons in Ukrainian legislation, which does not consider the budget organizations, including universities and research institutions, as entrepreneurial entities entitled to receive income in the form of profit. The article proposes the managerial model "triple helix" as the measure to improve this situation. It is important to transform the existing linear model of innovation cycle in Ukraine for conversion to cooperative model, and the adoption of appropriate special legislation for this. The carried on analysis has shown that Ukraine has considerable financial potential for economic support of the "triple helix" model. Each institutional component of the innovation cycle, working separately, cannot effectively provide the final commercial result of innovation. This is due to the fact that each such institution lacks creative cooperation and the use of achievements received by another institution that works at another stage of the innovation cycle. Accordingly, the low final innovative performance of each staker of the innovation process limits the interest of investors in financing innovative processes. This applies to both private and public investors, including the Ministry of Finance. The "triple helix" model allows us to eliminate this shortcoming, and to successfully bring innovations to the final commercial stage of the innovation cycle, which will create a positive financial result that will in turn attract investors for all the institutional constituents. In framework of this managerial approach, it is necessary to significantly increase the role and motivation of Ukrainian Universities to influence all processes of innovation cycle, because these institutions naturally become the system-forming centers of the "triple helix" model. To accomplish this task, it is possible to use the already well-developed experience of NTUU "Kyiv Polytechnic Institute" that has become realistic due to adopting for this University a special law that stimulated its innovative activity. The analysis has shown the existence of significant innovation potential of the several dozen Ukrainian Universities to complete their beginner stages of innovative cycles for the commercial mode. Therefore, one of the most urgent and quick legislative steps for the transition to the "Triple helix" model in Ukraine may be the adoption of a legal document similar to the Law on Science Park "Kyiv Polytechnic", for the majority of universities of Ukraine, which are ready to become entrepreneurial Universities.