Outputs

What you said about Industry/Academia interaction

• "Our initial collaborative projects with universities were not wholly successful. Our academic counterparts tended to try to steer the research in the direction they were most interested in, their timeframes did not match our expectations. It was difficult to agree outputs because the research is results-driven and you can’t really foresee what will emerge. Now though, we have a much more hands-on approach to co-working. We have monthly meetings; we agree what and how to move forward between meetings."

• "Our company does quite a lot of collaborative work with universities and other educational establishments. We have more than one facility in the UK involved in R&D but we don’t necessarily tell anyone about these productive relationships, and even within the company, we’re not aware of everything that’s going on."

• "Spin-off companies should be a realistic exit strategy for creative ideas. Universities need to know when to let go, and they need to be managed more with the attitude of a venture capitalist, they need to add value and not be a drain on resources."

• "Traditional research is very welcoming of large companies, and collaboration between universities, but working with SMEs requires a very different attitude."

• "SME-university collaborations, could be better and there could be more of them, but this would require universities to market their commercial services more effectively."

• "The university does recognise the importance of the third mission, and that the university has a role to play in local regeneration, and so the Local Authority does have access to the appropriate people at the university through a number of channels. A number of local government and Welsh Assembly Government bodies work with the university to support inward investment"

• "The success of any given SME-university collaboration depends on the type of company and the vehicle for collaboration. KTP projects and Smart Awards are effective vehicles because they have very clear wins for universities and for business."

• "From an outside point of view, the constraints on the universities are financial."

• "Individuals collaborating is what it is about and, if they can actually meet to discuss an issue of mutual interest, then the project works well, and the business gets good value for money."

• "Certain academics, in touch with the progress of a certain industry look for solutions to current technical challenges, with widespread applications for many businesses but which for industry R&D can’t or hasn’t provided the answer. This sort of situation allows collaborations to become very broad, involving several businesses. This can lead on to greater networking, and knowledge exchange. The risk is also spread out more."

• "There is probably a funding gap right now. It’s relatively easy to access small grants of around £5 -10,000, mostly in-kind in the form of consultancy, and also grants for large projects above £100,000. Accessing funding in the £10-100,000 range however is really difficult."

• "The media has a role too – to showcase successful studies, and report news that is beneficial to civic society."

• "When SMEs do work with universities it’s generally a really positive collaboration. The difficulty is in making it happen. It’s a big step for a SME to even think of approaching a university. Knowledge Transfer and commercial arms of universities have come a long way in Wales, especially in the last 5 years, in improving the situation."

Common themes arising from The Royal Academy of Engineering delegate questionnaire

• Need a single point of contact in universities for initial enquiries
• SMEs need to know how to make first contact                 
• Clear means of communication between both parties – have dedicated contact person for projects
• Need to develop and maintain trust between both parties                 
• Longer term relationships and funding schemes                 
• Knowing what funding is available                 
• Partnerships should be mutually beneficial                 
• Clear understanding needed at the outset of what is achievable                 
• Lack of awareness amongst SMEs of what universities can offer – universities need to market themselves better                 
• Lack of knowledge amongst SMEs of university obligations and constraints                 
• Lack of understanding amongst universities of SME issues i.e. time and financial constraints                 
• Importance of collaboration with SMEs not recognised by universities – little benefit (both financial and career-related) for researchers in undertaking this type of work                 
• IP ownership rights