Universities launch web hub
Scotland’s 13 universities have unveiled a new internet hub to enable companies from around the world to access information about their research and development capabilities.
The university technology website will be the first business project in the UK to link all higher education establishments from one country. Funded by the Scottish Institute for Enterprise, it is designed to provide a shop window for universities to display a wide range of academic research, innovative products and technologies.
The site, set to be launched by deputy first minister and enterprise minister Jim Wallace, will provide information on some of the hottest intellectual properties held by Scottish universities across 12 industry sectors, including biotechnology, optoelectronics, energy and marine.
According to Alison McFarlane, University of Strathclyde’s research grants and contracts manager, the key targets for the portal were research and development executives at global blue chip companies and international venture capitalists.
“We want to highlight a critical mass to the overseas market by developing a one-stop-shop. It provides universities with a great opportunity to market their technology and they still have their own websites where they can strategically market their own intellectual property [IP] just as aggressively.”
Offering visitors access to a database of research and technology, the website will seek to attract a world audience through search engine mar keting. Enquiries regarding intellectual property will receive automatic responses, with each university respon sible for responding to information requests.
McFarlane said that it was vital for all Scottish universities to be able exploit their IP in order to bring in licensing revenue and cover the costs of protecting patents. Research work in drug development has earned Strathclyde University tens of millions of pounds in royalties, and in the year June 2002 to June 2003 it signed 19 new patent applications and 14 licence deals.
“All universities have large patent portfolios and unless we make them work for us, it’s like having a stamp collection,” added McFarlane.
Dr Liz Rattray, manager of the University of Aberdeen’s 20-strong commercialisation department, said that the portal was a “great opportunity” to showcase potential technology projects and licensing deals.
“On average we get 30 to 35 new inventions that are disclosed to us every year by our academics, and we normally file about 20 patents and sign 10 licensing deals. But like all other institutions we are seeking large-scale collaborative links or spin-out opportunities.
“For academic institutions having your own one-stop-shop is a great idea as it’s very attractive to companies who don’t want to trail across all the different university websites.”
Scottish Institute for Enterprise director, Sharon Bamford, also said that Scotland’s 13 universities had driven the development of a portal that would only serve to generate further interest in the country’s R&D capacity.
www.university-technology.com
Sunday Herald, Darran Gardner
