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Science & Technology Strategy and Policy

Research on the Mechanism of How Industry-Education Integra⁃ tion Ecosystems Empower Green Innovation Talent Cultivation 

Zhao Yixuan1, 2 , Yu Jiang3, 4 , Bai Bingxin3 

(1.School of Sociology and Population Studies, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing  210023, China; 2.School of Information Management, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China; 3.Institutes  of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; 4.School of Public Policy  and Management, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China)

Abstract: Against the background of China's carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals  and the green transformation of traditional industries, green innovation talent cultivation has be⁃ come a systemic issue involving technological innovation, industrial practice, collaboration, and  talent supply. Existing studies mainly focus on green education within universities and provide  limited explanation of how education is embedded in an industry-education integration ecosys⁃ tem and how participating relationships evolve. This study aims to reveal the process mechanism  through which such an ecosystem enables green innovation talent cultivation. Drawing on the  multi-level perspective of socio-technical transitions and innovation ecosystem theory, an induc⁃ tive, exploratory, embedded single-case study examines the collaboration between the innovation incubation base of Nanjing University and Zhongtian Steel Group. Evidence is collected  through interviews, meeting observations, corporate materials, industry reports, and policy docu⁃ ments. More than 20 participants were interviewed for over 1, 600 minutes, and NVivo coding  and triangulation are used for analysis and validation. The findings identify three stages: lowcarbon value cultivation, diffusion, and transformation. In the cultivation stage, actors show  asymmetric resource dependence. Universities employ system strategies and socio-technical ex⁃ perimentation to integrate knowledge, technology, policy, and industrial-scene resources, trans⁃ late low-carbon issues into course cases, practical tasks, and research topics, and improve the  external feasibility of green innovation education. In the diffusion stage, relationships evolve into  joint dependence. Through joint projects, enterprise mentors, practice platforms, shared feed⁃ back, and collaborative evaluation, universities implement joint-action and embedded-trust  strategies, strengthen complementary capabilities, and improve internal behavioral consistency. In the transformation stage, as educational outcomes enter enterprise application settings, coop⁃ eration and competition coexist. Universities coordinate differences in technological routes, re⁃ source commitments, and value claims through project selection, outcome evaluation, and  feedback-based iteration, thereby aligning educational outcomes with industrial low-carbon  transformation and promoting internal-external coordination. The study develops a dynamic  model of "incubation and cultivation actions-symbiotic relationships-value goals". Multi-actor  relationships evolve from resource dependence to capability coordination and then to coopetitive  symbiosis, while value realization progresses from external feasibility to internal behavioral con⁃ sistency and finally to system-level coordination. The study extends industry-education integra⁃ tion research from static actor configurations to staged collaborative processes, places green inno⁃ vation education in industrial transition contexts, and incorporates talent cultivation into the  framework of socio-technical transitions. It also supports an integrated "course-projectplatform-outcome transformation" mechanism for green innovation talent cultivation. 

Key words: industry-education integration ecosystem; green innovation education; university-enterprise collaboration; steel industry; case study; innovation talent; low-carbon  transformation; asymmetric resource dependence