AUTHORS
Aleksandra Parteka, Piotr Płatkowski, Sabina Szymczak, Joanna Wolszczak-Derlacz
Abstract
Understanding how European universities convert knowledge into market-oriented innovation
is crucial for EU competitiveness. However, large-scale empirical analysis has been limited due
to the difficulty of linking patent data with institutional characteristics. This paper uses a novel
micro-level database to shed new light on the role of European universities in patented innovation.
It provides comprehensive data on the direct patenting activities of higher education institutions
(HEIs) across 31 European countries (1980–2019), including patent counts, citation records and
patent quality indicators, across 128 technological sectors and in artificial intelligence (AI) field.
Our unique PATSTAT-ETER crosswalk matches patent and institutional data, enabling micro-level
comparisons between 866 patenting institutions and over 2,100 non-patenting higher education
institutions (HEIs) in Europe. We reveal extreme concentration in university patenting: threequarters
of European universities (and half of STEM institutions) have no direct patent activity
with the top five global patent offices, while institutions from just five countries (the UK, Germany,
France, Belgium and Switzerland) account for 70% of all university patent applications.
Academic patenting clusters regionally, mirroring Europe’s economic disparities. The key institutional
factors related to universities’ patenting success, taking region- and country-specific factors
into account, are their age (experience/tradition), size, wealth, research orientation, and teaching
load.
Keywords
Patents, Knowledge, Higher education institutions (HEIs), University
Publication Date
September 2026
