Book excerpt: This book discusses how academic institutions can play a principal role in companies innovation strategy. The characteristics of University-Industry collaboration are strongly related to the social aspect of the activity of collaborating agents oriented towards a common object of work. To analyze this phenomenon, the author applies one of the concepts from the “Practice-Based Approach", namely the concept of the Activity Network to understand the collaboration process of R&D activities in a Nordic (Telia) and Swiss (Swisscom) Telecom Companies developing innovative products. The author focuses on four phases of University-Industry innovation partnership building: identification, selection, formation and navigation. The study shows the interactions between individuals, the contexts in which they act and explores ways in which collaborative value co-creation is managed. This pioneering research offers new theoretical insights and managerial implications on how these dynamics influence innovation in companies. It will thus be invaluable to international scholars, researchers of R&D and innovation as well as business managers.