Recommendations

Abstract

At the end of this book, we conclude that innovative universities should work in different ways to reach the classification of innovative universities.

At the end of this book, we conclude that innovative universities should work in different ways to reach the classification of innovative universities. To become among the innovative universities, our university (KAU) depends on some factors that can be summarized as follows:

• 1. Spreading the culture of innovation among the academic staff and university students especially the postgraduates,

• 2. Collaborating with the sector of industry, particularly the industry near the surrounding area of the university, as well as national industries in general,

• 3. Contributing to building start-ups and incubators, because they are more likely to achieve innovations,

• 4. Supporting and motivating staff, whether academic or non-academic, as well as senior and postgraduate students,

• 5. Opening a university office with marketing experts whose main task is to market the products of the university,

• 6. Getting funds for applied research, from different internal and external authorities,

• 7. Reducing the gap between numbers of students and teaching staff, in order to focus more on productivity,

• 8. Increasing and diversifying the sources of research budget in the university,

• 9. Encouraging interdisciplinary research by creating research teams that involve different disciplines, a more creative way than specialized teams,

• 10. Supporting cross-disciplinary research in several areas to address complex local and international problems,

• 11. Defining, protecting, and benefiting from intellectual property by communicating with investors who are able to move from ideas into products of commercial value,

• 12. Taking the course of scientific research to address the problems and needs of the community and beneficiaries,

• 13. Correlating university education and research to the requirements of local companies so that the university could attract the best talents,

• 14. Supporting student excellence, as leading universities in the late twentieth century realized that the absence of academic differences makes students lose ambition. Therefore, universities have started to look for new ways to distinguish hardworking and excellent students. For example, Harvard University adopted a major competitive sports championship throughout the semester. Students became enthusiastic and sought to achieve excellence in sports. Thus, sports have become a source of motivation that highlights competition in classrooms, where students are getting ready for practical life. The reinforcement system that encourages incentives and supports for academic excellence has continued to achieving satisfactory results in general [20].

• 15. Selecting teaching staff and employees based on competency criteria, for the appointment of outstanding teaching staff, is the most important decision taken in the university. It is also necessary to enhance the diversity of teaching staff and students.

• 16. Creating educational programs and research centers that promote creativity and innovation, while evaluating capabilities and selecting appropriate options,

• 17. Competitive facts indicate the need of most traditional universities to restructure and identify themselves. A university should start this by assessing its most valuable assets including: teaching staff and infrastructure. Taking these assets in consideration, the following question arises: How good is the university’s position? Not only compared to others, but also in terms of meeting the needs of students and other parties, the university supports discovery, creativity, and innovation.

• 18. Adopting the concept of “innovation is a strategy for success,” i.e., the university policy is to work, progress, and succeed, not to take precedence. This is because precedence is a result of progress and success.

• 19. Offering university free courses to outstanding school students in order to make them aware of the creativity achieved around the world, and what benefits individuals and communities can get. Here, instructors of such courses should believe in this importance, maintain interesting presentation techniques, and discuss topics of interest with students in such age.

• 20. Assigning instructors who show the information that encourages creativity and use interesting knowledge transfer techniques with pre-university students, thorough paying visits to schools to deliver lectures on the subject,

• 21. Opening the door for supporting any research conducted by schools, by allowing school students to access the university equipment for their research. This will not only lead to the success of scientific research and encouragement of creative researchers, but also to establish a personal connection between the university and the student who will always remember the place that supported him/her.

• 22. Admitting students who ranked first in the department to postgraduate studies once graduated, without having to go through the routine process of application that may take more than a year, and make students lose enthusiasm, or probably apply for other jobs,

• 23. Encouraging the outstanding university students through well-planned propaganda and a committee that supports the participation of students in international competitions,

• 24. Including creative postgraduate students into the teaching staff once they receive their doctorate degrees. Research papers of such students are often not only for scientific promotion, but also for creativity that solves community problems or helps industrial and economic development.