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University-City Nexus: evolving Inter-/Intra-City Network and Knowledge Flow of Chinese Universities
Ms HAO Lu
Abstract:
The growth and importance of universities have been well recognized in stimulating innovation and economic developments in nations and regions. China has been spending increasingly funding on higher education and launched programs, such as the “China Double First-Class Universities” initiatives in 2015, to strengthen the role of universities in boosting technological progress, inventive capacity, and regional competitiveness. Though developed concepts and existing studies have theorized and investigated the functions, the spatial diffusion of knowledge embodied in talent from universities and the mechanism driving their movement, particularly in the Chinese context, remain largely underexplored. In this study, taking advantage of social network analysis approach, we aim to investigate the evolving spatial knowledge network maintained by Chinese universities and assess their potentially induced impacts on knowledge spillovers embodied in talent by integrating characteristics of cities and universities. The study is expected to provide evidence and insights into understanding the development role that universities can perform while helping the place-based strategies concerning university-integrated regional innovation as well.