Graduate retention in the Delft area: an investigation of career and location decisions of TUDelft alumni

Research proposal for graduation project in Engineering & Policy Analysis (EPA)

Nicolò Wojewoda, 1334662Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management

Delft University of Technologynicolo.wojewoda@gmail.com

draft 6th March 2008

Keywords: graduate retention, urban economy, career decision, location choice, job mobility

SUMMARYMost literature focuses on the attraction of talent in regional or urban areas, with the goal of stimulating local economic growth. Few efforts, however, have been spent on retention of such talent, especially when this kind of human capital is produced in the city itself. The proposed research aims to highlight the importance of graduate retention in the local economy and to bring to surface the reasons for TUDelft alumni to stay in or leave the Delft area after graduation. The focus is on individual decision-making in a determined environment (housing, work opportunities, social life, etc.). Through a survey and interviews, data will be gathered and analysed, in order to find meaningful correlations between contextual elements and graduate retention in the local economy. The results will be also made available in the form of a booklet to the wider audience, to be presented to the relevant stakeholders, in order to foster public debate on the issue.

1 Introduction 21.1 Context of the proposal 21.2 Problem area 21.3 Research objectives 31.4 Research questions 3

2 Methodology 33 Products 44 Expected outcomes 45 Activities 46 Budget 57 Communication 68 Thesis report 69 References and relevant sources 7

9.1 Journal articles 79.2 Books and other publications 79.3 World Wide Web 7

1 Introduction1.1 Context of the proposalThe current research proposal is conceived within the framework of the graduation project for the Engineering & Policy Analysis master programme. The document constitutes both part of the requirements for fulfilling the course EPA2931 ʻPreparation master thesisʼ and part of the documentation required to formally inquire about the beginning of a thesis project. The final draft of the proposal will be presented in the kick-off meeting of the thesis committee in charge of supervision of the authorʼs work.

1.2 Problem areaAlthough the term knowledge economy has been used in the last decades to indicate a variety of concepts related to the importance of knowledge in our current economic processes (Godin, 2006), the underlying importance of the topic is such that countries at all levels of economic development are embarking on economies based on the creation, acquisition, consumption and diffusion of knowledge (World Bank, 1998).Godin (2006) notes that the biggest proponents of the knowledge economy, such as the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), have been evaluating its progress mostly in terms of investments in R&D. Recent literature, though, suggests that the dimensions of innovation (Raspe & van Oort, 2006) and human capital (Mellander & Florida, 2006; Raspe & van Oort, 2006) plays a big role in such development as well.Universities, as a focal production point of knowledge and knowledge workers, play therefore a big role in todayʼs knowledge economy (Conceição & Heitor, 1999; Florida et al., 2006). Such influence, however, has mostly been studied with the national or international perspective in mind. Recently, authors have started to focus on the regional/urban perspective of the knowledge economy, driven by the increasing importance of the region as the basic unit of analysis (Cappellin, 2007). The authors cited by Harloe & Perry (2004) posit that “the balance is shifting away from relative autonomy towards a new ʻmode of knowledge productionʼ (Gibbons et al., 1994; Ruivo, 1994; Nowotny et al., 2001) in which the growing engagement of universities with their regions and localities is an important aspect.” Also, universities can be considered as a local source of expertise for existing organizations in the region (van der Meer, 1997). Finally, the importance of the city and its urban economy is also highlighted by a series of non-academic publications of high profile (e.g. Jones et al., 2006; Bolz et al., 2005).

The city of Delft has been lately pursuing the idea of exploiting “the economic potential of Delft as a knowledge city” (van Geenhuizen, 1997, p. 375). In fact, approximately half of all Delft jobs are knowledge-intensive (Delft.com, 2008) and many start-ups are born throughout the year, further contributing to these figures. Although TUDelft and the other research/education organizations in the urban area employ a big percentage of the cityʼs population, preliminary talks with stakeholders suggest that a big part of TUDelft alumni decide to leave the city after graduation and start their own business in another city/region, or simply get employed by big companies located in the major Dutch cities (Rotterdam, The Hague, Amsterdam), as a first step in their career development.

When it comes to career and location choices, similar research (e.g. Hansen et al., 2003; Harren, 1979) stresses the line of inquiry related to patterns of individual decision-making by worker. In the case of an graduate student seeking first employment, the motivations are very varied, as they relate, for instance, with unemployment reasons (Böheim et al., 1999) or expected income (Kennan et al., 2003) or others.

All these elements show that the retention of graduates in the urban economy is therefore a priority for the city of Delft to ensure that the precious resources utilized to educate and train tomorrowʼs knowledge workers are not going to be invested in a different city/region, not allowing the city of Delft to reap the benefits of such opportunity.

Nevertheless, thereʼs a couple of major knowledge gaps on the issue:• thereʼs no knowledge about current levels of graduate retention• thereʼs little understanding about the perception of TUDelft graduates regarding

the reasons for their choice to stay in or leave Delft

1.3 Research objectivesIn light of the previous considerations, the objectives of the proposed research are:

• to highlight the importance of retaining knowledge workers in the urban economy, in order to stimulate economic growth

• to determine the reasons for TUDelft alumni to stay in or leave Delft after graduation

• to foster public debate about the issue in the city of Delft• to contribute to the research field of graduate retention

1.4 Research questionsThe proposed research question is:What are the contextual issues in the Delft area that require improvement in order to enhance graduate retention in the city of Delft?

The research might include answering the following sub-questions:• What is the current status of graduate retention in the urban economy of Delft?• What are the causes for TUDelft alumni to stay in or leave Delft after graduation?• How do these causes impact graduate retention?• What policy insights can we derive from these correlations?

2 MethodologyThe analysis of current employment conditions of TUDelft alumni would have to resort to the universityʼs existing contacts with recent graduates of its educational programmes. The proposed timespan for such sample is the most recent cohort (graduated in the 2006-2007 academic year) and the cohort of 2001-2002, in order to establish, if possible comparisons over time between the two samples and hopefully between the two populations. The source of these contacts would probably be the universityʼs database system with data about past and present students at TUDelft.

These alumni would be inquired about their current level of employement, if any, their living and working conditions and their reasons for choosing to stay in or leave Delft after graduation. The tool for inquiry would be an online survey. The questionnaire of the survey would be prepared with input from relevant stakeholders, within the timeframe of the project. This input would also serve to create a first conceptual model of the issue, that would be tested and improved through the results of the survey. The survey would have a sample size that allows statistical analysis, with enough variety to cover the whole set of faculties and educational programmes offered at TUDelft, as well as the different conditions of the population (gender, nationality, etc.). The survey would probably be run

online with the same tools that the university is currently using to assess satisfaction of foreign students at TUDelft.

Using causal analysis tools and methods, an analysis of the causes will be made and iteratively confronted with the results of the inquiry. The tool for statistical analysis instead would be SPSS or similar.

The theoretical framework for this research would be provided by a review of relevant literature in English, through databases (Scopus, Web of knowledge, Webspirs, Google Scholar) and the Internet (Google). Additional information would be gathered from other stakeholders in the process (TUDelft management, TUDelft researchers, Delft municipality management, other Delft-based groups with interest on the issue). Data sources in this case would include both interviews as well as publications from the relevant stakeholders.

3 ProductsThe products of the research are going to be:

• a master thesis report, conforming to the graduation requirements of the Engineering & Policy Analysis master programme

• the publication of a scientific article in an academic journal• a booklet illustrating the problem to the wider audience (policy-makers, employers,

students, etc.)• a press conference with the relevant parties (stakeholders and media) on the

results of the research

4 Expected outcomesThe research is expected to produce the following outcomes:

• a description of the current status of graduate retention, based on the surveyed sample, that proves that most TUDelft alumni chose not to work or live in Delft after graduation

• an overview of the issues influencing the choice of TUDelft alumni when deciding on career and location after graduation, related to all areas of life including leisure, career, family, economic situation and many others

• a statistical analysis that shows significant correlations between certain elements of influence and the graduate studentsʼ decisions on whether to stay in or leave Delft

5 ActivitiesThe following is a tentative list of the proposed activities, together with the corresponding amount of workload required.

Activity Workload (hours)

Preparation:• literature research• problem analysis• learning software and

research methods• conceptual modeling

100

Data gathering:• get contacts• create questionnaire• prepare interviews• conduct interviews• arrange survey

100

Data analysis:• data processing• causal analysis• statistical analysis

130

Writing thesis report 200

Preparing final presentation 32

Preparing booklet with research outcomes

20

Write journal article 40

Meetings, documentation and reporting to the thesis committee

50

SUBTOTAL 672 (24 ECTS)

buffer time 28

TOTAL 700

6 BudgetThe following are the expected costs incurred in the proposed research activities.

Item Cost (EUR)

Journal articles or other publications

50

Transportation to interview locations

50

Item Cost (EUR)

Interview equipment 50

Survey setup costs 50

Survey incentives 100

Printing 50

TOTAL 350

7 CommunicationThe progress of the research will be periodically monitored by the thesis committee through meetings and progress reports by email. The day-to-day supervisory efforts will be taken care of by the 1st supervisor dr. Ronald Dekker and by the 2nd supervisor XXX.A blog will be created to share the progress of the research and also to develop further insights not related to this project. Time for this will be taken aside from the project time, hence not being included on the table in Chapter 5.

8 Thesis reportThis is a preliminary outline of the final master thesis report:

Cover pageblankTitle pageblankto.../AcknowledgementsPrefaceTable of contentsList of figuresList of tablesSummary (2)1 Introduction (5)1.1 Problem context1.2 Research objectives1.3 Research questions1.4 Structure of this report2 Methodology (5)2.1 Scientific methods2.2 Tools2.3 Resources3 The urban knowledge economy3 Graduate migrantsʼ perspectives (30)3.1 Causes for migration3.2 Development of solutions4 Conclusions (5)5 Recommendations (2)ReferencesAppendices

9 References and relevant sources9.1 Journal articlesCappellin R. (2007), ʻThe Territorial Dimension of the Knowledge Economy: Collective Learning, Spatial Changes and Regional and Urban Policiesʼ, American Behavioral Scientist, vol. 50, n. 7, pp. 897-921Conceição P., Heitor M. V (1999), ʻOn the role of the university in the knowledge economyʼ, Science and Public Policy, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 37-51Godin B. (2006), ʻThe Knowledge-Based Economy: Conceptual Framework or Buzzword?ʼ, Journal on Technology Transfer, vol. 31, pp. 17-30Hansen S. B., Ban C., Huggins L. (2003), ʻExplaining the “Brain Drain” from Older Industrial Cities: The Pittsburgh Regionʼ, Economic Development Quarterly, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 132-147Harloe M., Perry B. (2004), ʻUniversities, Localities and Regional Development: The Emergence of the ʻMode 2ʼ University?ʼ, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 212-23Harren V. A. (1979), ʻA Model of Career Decision Making for College Studentsʼ, Journal of Vocational Behavior, vol. 14, pp. 119-133Raspe O., van Oort F. (2006), ʻThe Knowledge Economy and Urban Economic Growthʼ, European Planning Studies, vol. 14, no. 9, pp. 1209-1234van der Meer E. (1997), ʻThe University as a local source of expertiseʼ, GeoJournal, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 359-367van Geenhuizen M., Nijkamp P., Rijckenberg H. (1997), ʻUniversities and knowledge- based economic growth: the case of Delft (NL)ʼ, GeoJournal, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 369-377

9.2 Books and other publicationsBöheim R., Taylor M. (1999), ʻResidential mobility, housing tenure and the labour market in Britainʼ, Institute for Social and Economic Research and Institute for Labour Research, University of EssexFlorida R., Gates G., Knudsen B., Stolarick K. (2006), ʻThe University and the Creative EconomyʼKennan J., Walker J. R. (2003), ʻThe effect of expected income on individual migration decisionsʼ, National Bureau of Economic ResearchJones A., Williams L., Lee N., Coats D., Cowling M. (2006), ʻIdeopolis: Knowledge City-Regionsʼ, The Work FoundationMellander C., Florida R. (2006), ʻThe Creative Class or Human Capital? Explaining regional development in Swedenʼ, The Martin Prosperity InstituteBolz U., Ford A., Gourley M., Magee C., Castilla Porquet M., Rakel J., Radovanovic D., Sieverdink A., Sivertsen T., Sturesson J., Teunisse P., Toussing J. (2005) , ʻCities of the future - global competition, local leadership*ʼ, PricewaterhouseCoopersWorld Bank (1998), World Development Report 1998, ʻKnowledge for Developmentʼ

9.3 World Wide WebDelft.com (2008), ʻDelft Knowledge Cityʼ, http://www.delft.nl/webEN/content.jsp?objectid=33776 (retrieved on the 18th February 2008)