The paper focuses on the complex relationship between universities and industry, what benefits it brings to both parties and what challenges it poses. Attention is paid to the way in which universities fulfill their so-called "third mission", i.e. activities that go beyond the framework of traditional education and research and focus on technology transfer, knowledge commercialization and cooperation with industry. Cooperation between universities and industry includes formal and informal interactions according to the activities involved. Formal activities include concrete transactions that can be monitored and expressed by indicators. Informal links between universities and industry, knowledge exchange at conferences and, in particular, specialized media are difficult to measure, but are important because they enable the transfer of tacit knowledge that can be crucial for innovation.The empirical framework combined with primary research allows us to identify factors that support or hinder successful cooperation between companies and universities in a specific regional business environment. The main objective of the paper is to identify interactions between universities and industry in the conditions of the University of Žilina and the Žilina Self-Governing Region. Based on the results of primary research, it can be stated that cooperation between universities and industry represents a process with significant potential for both parties. To improve cooperation with universities, 63% of companies indicated a better focus of universities on market needs, 49% the possibility of acquiring qualified employees, 40% better communication between universities and industry, 33% faster decision-making and administrative processes in cooperation, 31% applicable results of universities, 29% greater flexibility of universities in research projects, 26% greater interest in cooperation with industry, 15% the university's own finances and 5% better transparency of the university's organizational structure. The research confirmed that this cooperation is beneficial for companies, with most of them noting a positive impact on their functioning. It is important to emphasize that long-term partnerships are characteristic primarily of companies, which indicates that stability and experience are key to successful cooperation with the academic sector.

Keywords: University, industry, interactions, formal, unformal.