This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Promoting links between business and universities
21/03/2005
A report on promoting better links between business and
universities will be supported by increased funding, it was
announced today.
Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace has published the
Executive's
response to the influential UK-wide Lambert Review of
Business-University Collaboration. This outlines how
institutions are working together to ensure a faster flow
of knowledge and ideas from Scotland's science base into
the business community.
As part of a range of actions identified in the report,
Mr Wallace welcomed increased funding for knowledge
transfer activity in universities. The Scottish Higher
Education Funding Council (SHEFC) Knowledge Transfer Grant
is to rise from £12.5 million in 2005/06 to at least £15.5
million in the following two years, an increase of over 20
per cent in real terms. This money helps researchers at
Scottish universities turn their projects into commercial
realities.
He also welcomed the involvement of Technology Ventures
Scotland in helping to engage industry in driving this
agenda forward.
The Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning
said:
"Harnessing innovation and discovery is key to our
future economic success.
"Our universities are highly competitive in terms of
their research but the focus for many academics lies in the
research itself - rather than the further exploitation of
its commercial potential. On the other hand, businesses are
often taken up with day-to-day concerns and may not seek
out university research teams to see how they can help
maintain their competitive edge through research and
development.
"Richard Lambert looked at these issues in detail in his
Review and recommended a range of actions by business,
universities and public support agencies. I'm pleased the
Executive can publish a Scottish response today after wide
discussion with interested parties, which has been informed
both by Lambert and by the UK Government's earlier
report.
"The funding for university knowledge transfer activity
complements our pipeline of support available for
commercialisation activities, and supports the drive to
boost low business R&D in Scotland. Links between
universities and businesses are improving - but can and
should go further and faster.
"I am pleased that Technology Ventures Scotland will be
helping to take forward the dialogue between business and
the higher education sector, and in promoting activity on
innovation."
The bulk of SHEFC's knowledge transfer activity is
promoted through its Knowledge Transfer Grant scheme, which
started in 2002 with an initial £6 million budget. Types of
projects that may receive funding include: training
academic staff to increase awareness of commercial
opportunities and business processes, secondments of
industry experts to universities, and developing databases
and websites to market the expertise and facilities at
universities. Further information is available at
http://www.shefc.ac.uk/
The Lambert Review of Business-University Collaboration
was commissioned by the Chancellor in the 2002 Pre-Budget
report with a remit to examine how the links between
universities and businesses in the UK could be improved.
The Review was led by Richard Lambert, member of the Bank
of England's Monetary Policy Committee and former editor of
the Financial Times. The final report was published in
December 2003.
The UK Government published its response to the Lambert
Review in July 2004 as part of the Spending Review in the
Science and Innovation Investment Framework 2004-2014.
The report was developed in consultation with a forum of
interested parties including the Enterprise Networks, the
Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC),
Universities Scotland, CBI and representatives from
Scottish universities. This forum considered both the
Lambert Review and the response by the UK Government and
discussed the relevance of each to the situation in
Scotland. The forum also sought to identify issues that
from a Scottish perspective were not covered, or covered
inadequately, by Lambert but which are of particular
relevance to Scotland, and any actions that should be taken
on these.
Technology Ventures Scotland (TVS) is a national
initiative set up to encourage the commercialisation of
Scotland's science and technology base. The TVS Advisory
Board, chaired by John McClelland, has senior
representation from industry, academia and government
agencies. For further information, see
www.technologyscotland.org