01 August 2009
Academic expertise help Scots firms remain on top (Enterprising News)

New figures released from Interface, a match making service between companies and academia, show a 116% increase in the number of new business and academic collaborations taking place compared to last year.

Director Dr Siobhan Jordan said: "I originally thought with the economic downturn we were going to be really quiet but since the start of the year we've never been busier. The number of enquiries were up a third in the first quarter and the number of projects underway were up as well. There's less money around but there's no downturn in innovation in companies.

"Firms looking to remain competitive is a big driver. Previously, a customer may have asked for something that wasn't in the main frame of a company and they may have said they don't have time, but customers are now really valuable and therefore there's a means of trying to stay ahead. That may then mean bringing on external partners such as academic institutions."

Dr Jordan believes that an academic partnership is a "win-win" situation for firms looking to fill a knowledge gap. Her firm has worked with 500 different businesses over the past three years and says she rarely sees projects fall through.

She said: "For those that don't go ahead, from the company's prospective, it can be resource intensive profit, so not having people resources to manage that project or training priorities within the company, are the most frequent reasons why companies don't proceed. It's less likely that it becomes an issue around cost or a conflict over intellectual property."

According to Dr Stephen Hammond, chief executive of Scottish Biomedical, who spoke at a recent event held by Nexxus, the network organisation for the life science community in the West of Scotland, potential candidates should approach a business and academic partnership the way they would a future spouse.

He said: "Choosing a collaborator is a bit like choosing a wife. To have the best chance of success, you should spend some time getting to know your potential partner. "In many cases, breakdown occurs because of the two different drivers of industry and academia. Industry looks for a commercial return and a competitive edge by keeping know-how restricted. Academics meantime want to preserve their academic freedom and publish the results of their research as widely as possible."

And the number of more in-depth Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) in Scotland has also seen an increase since the start of the year.

Recent figures released by The West of Scotland KTP Centre show a 12% increase from 123 KTPs in July compared to 110 in December 2008.

Dr Alasdair Cameron, manger of the West of Scotland KTP Centre, said he expects to see this number almost double over the next three years. The Scottish Funding Council has launched innovation vouchers to help companies work with universities.

Courtesy of http://www.enterprisinglasgow.com/

Download this document: Full publication (2.45 MB)