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Business and research partnership launched
20/08/2002
An innovative partnership to help Scotland reap the
business benefits of research carried out by academics at
the University of St Andrews was launched today.
St Andrews World-Class, an agreement between the
University of St Andrews and Scottish Enterprise Fife, is
expected to generate up to 30 new businesses over the next
10 years, ensuring that Scotland's economy benefits from
indigenous knowledge and research as well as inward
investment. The agreement builds on a long-standing
relationship between the University and Scottish Enterprise
Fife.
Launching the partnership, First Minister Jack McConnell
said:
"For Scotland's economy to flourish we must grow our own
businesses as well as attracting inward investment. This
partnership will help us capitalise on our first class
academic research and turn this into business results.
"I believe St Andrews World-Class will transform ideas
into commercial reality and pave the way for future
economic success, helping build a better, more vibrant
Scotland for us all. I would like to congratulate everyone
who has been involved with this excellent initiative."
Under the agreement, Scottish Enterprise Fife will
provide expertise and significant investment in expanding
the activity of the university's research and enterprise
services department and focus its activities on creating
and assisting high value businesses from the university's
research.
Joe Noble, Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise Fife,
said:
"Our partnership with the University of St Andrews has
the potential to make a significant impact on both the
regional and Scottish economies.
"The university has already shown itself to be a
world-class institution and we believe we can build on this
and attract some of the best minds in the world. The aim
would be to take their research and existing work to a
commercial level and produce some truly innovative
companies."
The transformation of university research into
successful commercial enterprises will be backed up by
additional work between both organisations that will see St
Andrews further develop as a significant location within
the Scottish economy.
Through St Andrews World-Class, Scottish Enterprise Fife
will help the university enhance its competitive advantage
as a world class teaching and research institution. Both
organisations will also pool their resources to help St
Andrews realise its potential as a visitor attraction and a
viable commercial base for companies.
Brian Lang, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the
University of St Andrews, said:
"The University of St Andrews has taken very seriously
the contribution it makes to Scotland's economy through the
production of new ideas and their transformation into
processes which have economic impact for Scotland and the
world. The partnership between the University and Scottish
Enterprise Fife has long flourished but this new initiative
means a renewed focusing of joint effort to ensure
Scotland's leading university continues to contribute to
Scotland's economic competitveness."
The close working relationship between the University
and SE Fife has already borne fruit with the arrival of the
Sasol research and development laboratory on the campus.
The South African company's decision to come to Fife has
created posts for 25 PhD level scientists who will lead
research into homogeneous catalysis, a process of making
chemicals and fuels cheaper and greener.
All sciences at the University of St Andrews received a
'5/5*' rating in the Scottish Higher Education Funding
Council's 2001 Research Assessment Exercise. Further
details on this are available at
http://www.st-and.ac.uk/rae01.shtml.