We had the great privilege to attend the 2012 CAM day this Monday in Linköping, Sweden. CAM – Centre for Applied Management for small and medium-sized enterprises at Linköping University hosted a yearly Quad-Helix event where the region of Östergötland (East Sweden) manifested its dedication to regional growth and prosperity.
CAM brings the University closer to the SME business life, contributes to their development and growth and raises the problems of the companies into the light of science – all to the common benefit of building a prosperous region.
The Quad-Helix model recognizes that the drain pipe approach is not competitive. It also illustrates the key importance of the central context management, a driving force connecting the civil society with talented people irrespective of their home base.
The venue was smoldering with enthusiasm and we were all enlightened by the entrepreneurs, public officials and representatives from the University as they high-lighted astonishing results from their integrated way of co-operation. We were also entertained by traditional "academic shows".
Putting the team before the idea
The topic of the day was the ever increasing importance of competency and the global chase of talents. How the academic field and SME’s could benefit from each other. The way to success is to get students out to the small and medium sized companies and vice versa, bring the companies to the university, while the public sector ensure the frame work for stable interactions.
Everyone present seemed to agree with the entrepreneurs that forming a winning team is far more important for business development than the idea itself. A bad idea can be fixed by a great team – while a bad team can destroy any good idea…