How does a university become a center for innovation?

How does a university become a center for innovation? That was the main question at a recent conference for Giant — the Grenoble Innovation for Advanced New Technologies, in France.The proceedings were inaugurated by Geneviève Fioraso, the French minister of research and higher education, and included delegates from the Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago, Harwell in the United Kingdom, California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Singapore, Rio De Janeiro, Lausanne, and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.“This forum marks a pivotal step towards the creation of a global innovation community comprised of leading technology campuses,” said Marcel Morabito, an adviser at the French Atomic and Alternative Energy Commission and one of the event’s organizers.The discussions covered four areas that an institution wishing to foster innovation should consider: Would the campus focus on a single industry, or aim to develop applications that span many fields? What kinds of relationships should the campus aim to develop with large corporations? Are there other universities or technical institutes nearby that can become research partners? And how does the institution position and market itself to leading researchers?The conference host, Giant, brings together three French universities — the Grenoble École de Management, the Grenoble Institute of Technology and Joseph Fourier University — with five laboratories and research institutes on one campus.“We already have plans to hold the 2013 forum at Caltech in California,” said Mr. Morabito.