CIRED 2003
Strengthening Academic and Industrial Links (SAIL) – A Framework to Support Academic – Industry Collaboration in Europe
Clive Winters1 and Joaquin Alonso Andaluz2
1Coventry University Enterprises Ltd, Coventry UK
2Fundacion Madri+d Para el Conocimiento, Madrid, SPAIN
Abstract
This paper is based on the work of a European Commission network funded under the Innovating Regions in Europe programme. The SAIL (Strengthening Academic and Industrial Links) network is designed for regions across Europe to exchange best practice on schemes and programmes to link academia and industry. This paper is based on work undertaken with members of the network and through information gathered through study tours and secondments undertaken across Europe by the members.
The paper highlights a number of sectoral (e.g. biotechnology, food and drink) and process based (e.g. incubation, technology transfer) approaches to bridging the gap between industry and the academic world.
1.0 Introduction
SAIL is a network, which helps its members exchange experience about academic and industrial cooperation across Europe.
Fifteen members, covering many countries in the European Community and associated states, form the core of the network. By bringing together representatives from a diverse spread of regions, SAIL aims to improve cross-region working and promote the development of transnational partnerships.
SAIL is part of the European Commission backed Innovating Regions of Europe initiative which aims to enable regions to access new tools and schemes for innovation promotion and to create an inter-regional learning process. It also seeks to put innovation at the top of the regional policy agenda and supports a range of targeted networks under its banner.
The SAIL network raises awareness of regional innovation at a strategic level and enhance transnational partnerships by offering a number of intensive expertise exchange activities. Bilateral senior level secondments and regional study tours will involve the key ‘movers and shakers’ of innovation from at least 14 regions of Europe.
SAIL is one of only fourteen thematic networks funded by the European Commission within the framework of the "Promotion of innovation and encouragement of SME participation" programme.
This paper explores the strategic linkages between Academia and Industry and highlights best practice programmes operating across Europe.
2.0 An overview of Academic Industry Collaboration
At the European level significant activity has been undertaken to encourage links between academia and Industry. The European Commission has been proactive in encouraging regions across Europe to develop and implement regional Innovation systems. Since the middle of the 1990s regions across Europe have undertaken these exercises and have realised that a regional approach to maximising the knowledge held within educational institutions is needed.
Examples of this can been in schemes established to enable businesses to have one single point of contact for academic institutions in their locality, enabling them to establish partnerships with the institution that can most meet their needs. Examples of this are:
West Midlands, UK: CONTACT
The twelve universities of the West Midlands have a wealth of expertise, specialist facilities and student skills available to assist businesses improve their competitiveness and profitability.
Whether it be through education or training, consultancy or research, student placements or provision of specialist laboratories facilities and equipment, the universities can provide tailor made solutions to business needs.
Because they operate nationally and internationally at the forefront of new concepts, ideas and technologies they are able to provide objective advice to complement businesses' existing expertise.
Wales, UK: Know How Wales
Provide a locally-based, but Wales-wide, source of free, comprehensive and independent advice to businesses and institutions in support of the commercialisation of technology, innovation and R&D, promote the expertise and technology that is available in and through all academic institutions in Wales, assist businesses to access the help they need to realise their new ideas for process or product development, support and market the Technology and Innovation Initiatives that are variously available in Wales, and encourage the formation of additional and more effective collaborations between business and academic partners. Know-How Wales offers a major service for bringing together potential business and academic partners in collaborations.
In addition to these regionally based approaches individual academic institutions have developed their own approaches to working with industry. A common mechanism for achieving this has been the establishment of Business Development offices. In this environment staff of the university are actively encouraged to develop strategic links with local business and to actively engage with university professors. In this environment this type of unit can act a key building block to strengthen the linkage between the academic institution and the business, ensuring that the requirements are met within a commercial timeframe and that the intellectual property of institution is maintained.
The relationship between academia and industry is a complex and dynamic one. Transactions vary dependant on contractual relationships and transfer of knowledge. The SAIL network has broken down these transactions into four basic areas that reflect the interaction between the two communities.
- Research and development
- Knowledge transfer
- Technology Transfer
- Incubator Schemes
This paper outlines these transactional systems and explores best practice programmes that operate in each of these areas.
3.0 Incubation Schemes
Incubation is a dynamic business development process. It is a term which covers a wide variety of processes, which help to reduce the failure rate of early stage companies and speed the growth of companies which have the potential to become substantial generators of employment and wealth.
What are incubators?
An incubator is usually a property with small work units which provides an instructive and supportive environment to entrepreneurs at start-up and during the early stages of businesses.
Incubators provide three main ingredients for growing successful businesses:
- An entrepreneurial and learning environment
- Ready access to mentors and investors
- Visibility in the marketplace.
The benefits of business incubation are numerous. In particular it:
- Encourages faster growth and greater survival rates of new companies
- Helps to identify investment opportunities
- Facilitates the commercialisation of university or corporate research and new ideas
- Helps to create jobs and tackles specific urban or rural economic development problems
Universities in particular operate schemes that provide incubator space and support linked to research and development capability and this is the primary area of interest for the SAIL network. Examples include:
Spain: Embryo Programme
Framework programme in which a research group of the university and a student with entrepreneurial profile are matched in order to set-up a spin-off using technology or knowledge of the university.
Finland: Spinno Programme
Spinno BDC, established 1991, is part of the Innopoli High Tech Centre's activities. Spinno BDC's mission is to promote commercialisation of high tech and knowledge intensive business ideas in order to achieve the following goals:
1. To foster the creation, growth and internationalisation of new high tech and knowledge intensive companies in the Helsinki metropolitan area,
2.To increase employment through these companies, to maximise society's benefit from the financial Investments it makes in research.
Germany: Exist Business Start-up
The "EXIST - University-based start-ups" Programme is based on four guiding principles:
- The permanent establishment of a "culture of entrepreneurship" in teaching, research and administration at universities
- The consistent translation of academic research findings into economic wealth creation.
- The targeted encouragement of the great potential for business ideas and start-up personalities at universities and research institutions
- A marked rise in the number of innovative start-ups and, thus, the creation of new and secure jobs
EXIST intends to improve the start-up climate at universities and increase the number of start-ups from academic institutions. Models to motivate, train and support entrepreneurial personalities have been created in five regional networks. In these networks the universities work together with external partners from academia, industry and politics, such as extra-university research institutions, companies, capital donors, technology and start-up centres, management consultancies, chambers of commerce, associations and local authorities. Together they develop an agreed offer for students, employees and graduates. With EXIST the networks have developed into "areas of excellence" that can serve other universities and initiatives as a model for setting up start-up networks. EXIST is one element of the public support given by the Federal Government for innovative start-ups and, with its special objectives, it contributes towards improving the transfer of knowledge and technology from the universities.
4.0 Knowledge Transfer Schemes
Knowledge transfer is a prime objective of both higher education institutions and research institutions, and all work hard to establish research links with companies in all fields of manufacturing and commerce.
Industry, too, has realised that there is more to a university than a source of fresh graduates. Higher education has the research knowledge and resources a firm needs to compete effectively.
The world of industry and commerce has undergone rapid changes in recent years. To continue to thrive, a company must respond to these changes and prepare itself for new ways of doing business. Recruiting skilled graduates is one answer, but it is equally important not to neglect the potential of your existing staff. The learning of new skills should not stop with the first paycheque. By continuously developing its entire workforce, a firm not only shows confidence in its employees but can set itself up as a key player at the cutting edge of the business world.
Higher education institutions have an important role here. Universities and HE colleges do not just offer degrees or train people prior to employment. They offer a range of courses for people within employment and contribute to any lifelong learning programme. Examples of best practice programmes in this area include:
United Kingdom : Centre for product design information
The Centre for Product Design Information (CPDI) is part of the University of Central England's Birmingham Institute of Art and Design. Extensive information resources are underpinned by partnerships with a number of expert design organisations.
Anyone who needs design as part of their everyday work will find the site indispensable. That includes product and industrial designers, managers and planners as well as design engineers and marketing people. Issues covered include materials, processes, technologies, and design management techniques and services. Its aim is to improve innovation and, thereby, competitiveness and profitability, in small and medium sized companies in the West Midlands. CPDI is part-financed by the European Community - European Regional Development Fund.
United Kingdom : Food and Drink Net
Food and Drink Net is a unique collaboration between Industry, public sector and leading West Midlands learning organisations who have come together to provide effective solutions to the skills needs of the West Midlands’ food & drink manufacturing and processing industry.
Organisations involved in Food and Drink Net include local employers, colleges, Chambers of Commerce, City and County Councils, national training organisations and Coventry University.
The partners are united in the vision of delivering regional excellence and specifically industry-focused learning which will be the driver for future growth and achievement.
Food and Drink Net has the clear aim of delivering regional excellence and specifically industry-focused learning which will be the driver of future growth and achievement.
The encouragement of better trained and skilled personnel within the food & drink manufacturing and processing industry will help individual companies to maximise performance and profitability and place the West Midlands at the cutting edge of a vital and global industry.
5.0 Technology Transfer Schemes
There is no widely accepted definition of technology transfer, but, generally speaking, technology transfer is the sharing of knowledge and facilities among:
Industry
Universities
and other institutions
The concept of technology transfer as a practical matter becomes clearer when one understands what technology transfer is designed to accomplish. The primary purpose is to make technological developments generated by universities accessible to private industry and other actors (mostly under licence).
These users are then encouraged to develop the technology further into new products, processes, materials, or services that will enhance industrial competitiveness or improve quality of life.
Technology transfer is important, one estimate indicates that from one-third to one-half of all growth in the USA has come from new technologies.
In particular valuable examples of technology transfer schemes include:
Ireland : Bioresearch
BioResearch Ireland (BRI) is Enterprise Ireland’s (EI) Programme in Advanced Technology for biotechnology. BRI manages the commercialisation of technologies arising from university research by assisting the development and transfer of technology from research facilities to industry. BRI’s specific objective is to create start-up companies based on new technologies.
Technology Management Team
BRI provides proactive support in both the protection of intellectual property and the commercial exploitation of the results. This is done through BRI’s unique combination of core competency in technology management, and a network of professionals available to deal with technologies in Universities, Institutes of Technology and other research facilities.
Advanced Technology Research Programme (ATRP)
The ATRP aims to generate technologies, products and processes that can provide the basis for new start-up companies. BRI monitors and supports the biotechnology projects funded through the ATRP. 2002 was the second year of applied research funding under the ATRP scheme. To date 20 projects have been allocated funding which averages €380,000 per project.
United Kingdom: Montage
The MONTAGE project assists small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the West Midlands region to identify opportunities for innovation through new technology. It also encourages the SME to use local research and development facilities to help with the development of new products and processes.
Assistance is provided through subsidised services but, in addition, it includes the identification of appropriate grant funding where applicable.
Services include:
TECHNOLOGY / INNOVATION AUDITS a comprehensive joint analysis of potential for the use of new technology within the products and processes of the business. Includes an "Innovation Checklist" and introduction to other appropriate support initiatives.
TECHNOLOGY WATCH assists businesses by searching a range of world wide information sources to identify specific technologies, materials, research expertise, development facilities, etc., to meet the unique needs of each client. The service offered is either for a "one off" search or a "subscription" based on the continuous update of a chosen subject.
TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENT GRANTS a number of initiatives offer financial support to small and medium companies for the improvement of their operational performance and competitiveness. Montage, though its Technology/Innovation Audits, is often able to identify areas where such incentives may be available.
Greece: On-Line Innovation
The project ONLI aims to link Technology Parks, Universities, and Technology Transfer Centres in a European virtual one-stop-shop network to provide on-line services related to Innovation Management, Technology Transfer, and Spin-off Support to European SMEs.
By incorporating on-line tools, the scope of the ONLI project is to re-engineer part of the services provided by the Technology Parks as organizations facilitating the transfer of technology within European SMEs and research infrastructure. The web interface (already available at ( will enable the quick and uninterrupted offering of such services to three different client categories
a) park’s personnel
b) external consultants
c) direct use by SMEs
The innovative challenge of the project is the installation of such a virtual network of technology parks linked together, offering part of their services via the internet including an adaptation and differentiation of this services upon the particularities and specific characteristics of each region.
6.0 Research and Development Programmes
R&D is defined in terms of research and experimental development. Research is further divided into basic and applied research. R&D covers the following related activities.
* Basic Research is experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of the underlying foundation of phenomena and observable facts, without any particular application or use in view.
* Applied Research is also original investigation undertaken in order to acquire new knowledge, but directed primarily towards a specific practical aim or objective.
* Experimental Development is systematic work, drawing on existing knowledge gained from research and/or practical experience, that is directed to producing new materials, products and devices; to installing new processes, systems and services; or to improving substantially those already produced or installed which will lead to an extension of knowledge.
The following activities are subsections of basic research.
* Pure-basic Research is defined as the advancement of knowledge without explicit orientation to long-term economic or social benefits and with no positive efforts being made to apply the results to practical problems or to transfer the results to sectors responsible for its application.
* Orientated-basic Research is carried out with the expectation that it will produce a broad base of knowledge likely to form the background to the solution of recognised or expected current or future (practical) problems or possibilities.
Importantly research and experimental development is distinguished from other related activities by the presence of an appreciable element of novelty and the resolution of scientific and/ or technological uncertainty, that is, where the solution to a problem is not readily apparent to someone familiar with the basic stock of commonly used knowledge and techniques in the area concerned. This in particular highlights the distinction between Research and Development and technology transfer. Best Practice examples of Research & Development programmes include: