OPINION:The university must help grow the economy – research turns money into knowledge, innovation turns knowledge into money, writes JOHN SCANLAN.
SCIENCE FOUNDATION Ireland (SFI) was established in the year 2000 with the aim of “helping build in Ireland research of globally recognised excellence and nationally significant economic importance”. Irish universities have focused predominantly on the first part of this aim. The Government has spent considerable amounts to allow Irish universities to compete internationally in research excellence and we have made significant progress in this regard.
This focus sat easily with the classic teaching and research agenda of most Irish universities. It was not seen as their role to commercialise that research or to work with companies. However, this old model is no longer viable, with the wider economic issues facing Ireland’s economy and the funding given to Irish universities coming under the microscope, The time has come to turn this excellence in research into something of “nationally significant economic importance”.
We are beginning to see a changing focus in Irish universities. The recent announcement by TCD and UCD to create an Innovation Alliance is a joint effort to create a new, equally important, stream for universities. That is, innovation and commercialisation of research, with a drive toward turning knowledge into money or, better still into jobs.
Thanks largely to Enterprise Ireland, universities can now apply this extra focus which complements SFI funding. Enterprise Ireland values job creation and commercialisation of research as highly as we value scientific publications within the university system.
Given the Government’s “Smart Economy” strategy, many of us involved in commercialisation of research would welcome a move to see the universities funded directly to engage in commercialisation. If this became core to their business and not just a spin-off then it would be truly market informed, with all the practical rewards this brings.
Beginning in mid-2007 and throughout 2008, Enterprise Ireland invested heavily in building up technology transfer teams in a group of 10 Irish research institutes: the seven universities, Royal Collage of Surgeons Ireland, Dublin Institute of Technology and Waterford Institute of Technology.
It is arguable that a focus on innovation, commercialisation of research and new start-up companies should have been part of the criteria of the last 10 years’ funding splurge. But even with the late start the fruits of this new investment are emerging. All institutes reported considerable increase in licensing activity for the calendar year 2008. Many of these licences are to Irish SMEs, helping them develop new products with innovative technologies.
Although the total number of new start-up companies created in the sector was low in 2008, for the institutes that received funding in 2007, the results are very positive.
For example, at NUI Maynooth, the Commercialisation Office was funded by Enterprise Ireland in mid-2007 and now has two case managers working on commercialisation of research. In 2008, we completed six licence deals and helped spin out a new company which employs 10 people. Several of the licences were to small Irish companies.
In comparing our performance to international levels, the standard approach is to ratio the number of deals to the research expenditure – measuring what it “costs” in research budget to produce a spin-out company or a licence deal. For example, last year it cost one of the US leaders, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), an average of €40 million to produce a spin-out and €11m to produce a licence. With €22 million in research expenditure it cost NUI Maynooth €22 million to produce a spin-out and less than €4 million to produce a license.
As part of its management process, Enterprise Ireland has commitments from the group of 10 to deliver 25 spin-outs in 2009. Total research expenditure for 2009 for the group will be about €500 million. MIT spent approximately €800 million on research in 2008, setting up 20 new companies. So if we deliver the numbers, we will spin-out companies at the rate of one per €20 million compared to MIT’s one per €40 million.
We tend to remember great spin-outs like Iona Technologies (from TCD) or indeed Google (from Stanford), and no doubt for every 100 spin-outs we might get one Iona and for every 1,000 spin-outs we might get one Google, but SMEs are the backbone of every economy.
At 25 spin-outs per year, four years of effort will produce 100 new SMEs, all with the technologies (and the monopolies of patents) to compete internationally. Many will fail, but success will drive success and inexorably we will create the so far elusive knowledge economy.
All technology transfer offices now work hand-in-hand with their scientists and external business partners to examine new commercial opportunities, develop a market plan and the business plan for start-ups and bring to launch.
At NUI Maynooth we now train postgraduates in business, marketing and product development skills, we upskill scientists and engineers on research commercialisation and we run an annual student entrepreneurship competition which starts undergraduates off on the mission to create businesses. All this helps feed our pipeline, which is to deliver new spin-out opportunities.
Commercialisation (or technology transfer) offices are also charged with developing links with industry. The primary focus is to help Irish companies move up the value chain, to transfer our knowledge to them and help them develop tomorrow’s product pipeline. At NUI Maynooth, we will run an “open for business” event at Carton Hotel on April 1st (for information see our website at www.commercialisation.nuim.ie).
This workshop will show companies what skills we have on offer, how to avail of the generous funding available from Enterprise Ireland and other agencies, and how to take advantage of tax breaks for research and development. So in parallel with creating new businesses, we see another key mission of universities as helping existing Irish businesses grow and prosper.
Irish universities need to follow the example of the TCD/UCD Innovation Alliance, put commercialisation on a par with research and allow the commercialisation agenda to shape the research agenda (rather than vice versa), so that research becomes market informed. Research excellence is measured by the quality of scientific publications, commercialisation excellence is measured in spin-outs and licence deals.
The Government now appears to have decided how it values these separate strands, with the recent programme for research in third-level institutions favouring a focus on innovation and commercialisation. Next step is to change the infrastructure to make it work. Only then will we deliver on the promise of a smart economy.
Dr John Scanlan in the Director of the commercialisation office at NUI Maynooth, http://commercialisation.nuim.ie/