The Scottish Government

Results from academic year 2007-08

1. The most recent survey provides data for the academic year 2007-08.

2. One HEI did not complete Part B (numerical/financial questions) this year, and therefore results for this year are based on 18 HEIs. This must be borne in mind when comparing the latest data with previous year's data, in which 17 HEIs completed Part B.

3. In 2007-08, as in previous years, Scotland has been generally more active in knowledge transfer than the UK as a whole. This is due to Scotland's relatively high number of HEIs compared to its population and a commensurate higher level of research funding.

4. Total income to HEIs from knowledge exchange has increased by 7% from £320.5 million in 2006-07 to £341.4 million in 2007-08, which is a 4% increase in real terms.

5. The main findings for Scotland from the survey for 2007-08 are consistent with previous years. They show an overall upward trend in the levels of commercialisation activity from 2001-02 to 2007-08, despite volatility in some indicators.

6. The components parts of total income changed as follows:

• Income generated from collaborative research increased by 15% from £98.8 million in 2006-07 to £113.8 million in 2007-08.
• Income from contract research increased by 17% from £83.1 million in 2006-07 to £97.0 million in 2007-08.
• Income generated by consultancy contracts increased by 21% from £32.5 million in 2006-07 to £39.2 million in 2007-08.
• Income generated from Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses increased by 5% from £46.7 million in 2006-07 to £49.2 million in 2007-08.
• Income generated from facilities and equipment related services increased by 1% from £18.9 million in 2006-07 to £19.0 million in 2007-08.
• Income generated from regeneration and development programmes decreased by 38% from £26.0 million in 2006-07 to £16.1 million in 2007-08.
• Income generated by Intellectual Property (IP) decreased by 52% from £14.6 million in 2006-07 to £7.0 million in 2007-08.

7. The majority of commercialisation activity in Scotland is concentrated in a small number of HEIs, for example: 5 HEIs account for 83% of the total income from collaborative research (The University of Edinburgh, the University of Aberdeen, Heriot-Watt University, the University of Strathclyde and the UHI Millennium Institute); and 5 HEIs account for 82% of the total value of contract research (The University of Glasgow, the University of Dundee, the University of Strathclyde, the University of Edinburgh and the University of Aberdeen). 8. Additional findings from the Scottish survey results for 2007-08 are detailed below:

• The number of new patent applications filed increased from 173 in 2006-07 to 229 in 2007-08.
• Patents granted have increased from 61 in 2006-07 to 88 in 2007-08.
• The number of disclosures decreased from 373 in 2006-07 to 353 in 2007-08.
• Total spin-offs established in 2007-08 (both with and without HEI ownership) has increased from 30 to 32 since the previous year.
• The number of people employed by spin-offs active in 2007-08 with no HEI ownership decreased from 1,839 ( FTE) in 2006-07 to 1,795 ( FTE).
• On average, Scottish HEIs record £1.06 million turnover from each active spin-off (both with and without HEI ownership) in 2007-08, in comparison to £0.87 million in the UK as a whole.
• Scottish institutions rank 'access to education' first, as the area through which they contribute to economic development and rank 'technology transfer' as the second. The industrial sectors that they work most closely with are Education (100% of HEIs work with this sector), International Organisations and Bodies (100%) and Health and Social Work (95%).

Main downloads

• Summary of Scottish Results

The UK report and full data sets by region and by Institute can be found on HEFCE's website.

Previous Scottish reports are also available to download in PDF format:

• HE-BCI survey 2006-07
• HE-BCI survey 2004-05 and 2005-06
• HE-BCI survey 2003-04
• HE-BCI survey 2002-03
• HE-BCI survey 2001-02
• HE-BCI survey 2000-01