NB: This is a guest article by Svend Leirvaag and Juan-Jesus Garcia from the Industry Affairs department at Amadeus IT Group.
We believe in a strong collaborative environment for both travel companies and consumers alike. We also believe that this new era of collaboration will be the cornerstone of the travel and tourism landscape in the future.
But to what extent does collaboration currently exist between what we understand as "industry" and academia?
This is a pertinent issue. Other industries such as biotechnology or the pharmaceutical sector actively pursue collaboration between industry and academia. And often with proven and successful results.
During the last few months, this type of collaboration is a topic we have been hearing debated more and more by the two parties.
Despite its fragmented structure, travel and tourism as an industry has traditionally adopted innovative technology as a source of competitive advantage, and you would have thought that as a matter of course this would stimulate collaboration between the two.
But this is not the case yet so far.
What is the situation today?
Collaboration exists but is limited to the large travel companies such as major global airlines, GDSs or OTAs.
Innovation, of course, is one of the drivers behind any company's progress and growth, giving an organisation the opportunity to achieve a strong competitive position within the market.
Amadeus, for example, is recognised as one of the leading companies in Europe for investment in research and development (R&D) by the European Commission (EC), often in conjunction with the likes of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the ETH Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.
Why is industry-academic collaboration not more prevalent today?
The objectives and interests of both parties are in general quite different. Academic research is driven by the impact it will have on the global research community, and measures of success are largely based on the volume and quantity of publication.
Research on a commercial level is obviously driven by the impact it will have on the company itself (the bottom line!) and measures of success are based on short/mid-term value creation.
Therefore the first challenge is to identify projects or areas where interests converge.
We are working on a number of projects sponsored by the European Commission where the EU, academia and industry stakeholders are working closely together.
Those projects are looking at topics such as the definition of the future R&D agenda for the aviation industry, the setting of standards for the rail industry or the definition of the future development of tourism in Europe more generally.
So what is the challenge going forward?
The problem is how to cultivate and increase the number of these initiatives, thus making it a business practice norm rather than an exception.
So, here are some of our own (modest recommendations) and calls for action.
1. Relationships
First it is about creating the relationship and the institutional framework to foster collaboration, to know each other better, to discuss and take tangible action.
Therefore, the creation of a collaboration platform for academia and industry would be an ideal and preliminary step.
2. Joint goals
Identify the areas where common interests are shared. Labs departments at travel companies could be a natural entry point since they might share similar innovation project objectives.
Helping travel companies research new emerging areas – social media, mobility, cloud computing – could be an opportunity for researchers to support travel company strategies.
3. Resources
Identifying the assets each party brings to the equation – researchers bring, among other skills, technical knowledge, vision and methodologies to test new systems or functionalities without necessarily incurring huge investment.
Companies may bring the knowledge and experience to challenge the applicability of a specific research project or question.
Conclusion
We passionately believe academia and industry collaboration will continue to bring valuable results to both parties and ultimately to the travel and tourism industry.
Whilst we continue to expand these practices we would be pleased to hear your own views and recommendations in order to foster a more active collaboration between both industry and academia.
NB: This is a guest article by Svend Leirvaag and Juan-Jesus Garcia from the Industry Affairs department at Amadeus IT Group.
NB2: University student and technology image via Shutterstock.