One of the outcomes of PraxisUnico and AURIL coming together is that it has expanded our regional network (AURIL has had regional groups for some time) and representation in the devolved nations. Bryn Jones at Bangor University is currently on the combined Board and as June drew to a close with soaring temperatures we worked together to prepare a PraxIsUnico/AURIL response to the Reid Review of Innovation in Wales.
Sitting in our Cambridge office, with an education and working background courtesy of two English universities, it’s easy to find oneself focusing on uniquely English concerns – HEIF being the obvious one – because they are familiar territory. But the PrU/AURIL network is very much a national one and the purpose of engaging with this review was to underline the value of that professional network which has seen many people making career moves from one part of the UK to another and cross-fertilising the KEC landscape. With recent industrial and funding policy focusing on stimulating collaboration between universities it is important that there is sufficient resource for engagement across the UK and the capacity for sharing good practice. This directly supports recommendations of the Science & Technology Select Committee’s 2016/17 inquiry into ‘Managing IP and Technology Transfer’ which noted that guidance on best practice should “take account of regional and sectoral differences” and also that in terms of funding, HEIF-type funds “should be consistently available across the United Kingdom.”
In Wales, our network is strong with almost 200 members based across nine universities (Aberystwyth, Bangor, Swansea, University of South Wales, University of Wales Trinity St David, Glyndwr Wrexham, Cardiff and Cardiff Met and the Open University in Wales). We are strengthening the already good linkage with the Welsh Industrial Liaison Officers (WILO) network and foresee working together on joint events and activities. Outside the university sector the new Compound Semi-conductor Application Catapult is a member as is Finance Wales. Through our UKSPA connection many of the region’s science parks, incubators and accelerators are also part of our wider professional community (e.g. Orbit Business Incubator, M-SParc, Bridge Innovation Centre).
The Reid Review takes place at a time of significant changes for Welsh Higher Education. It builds on 2015/16’s Diamond Review of higher education funding and student finance in Wales and 2016’s Hazelcorn Review, which recommended a review of research and innovation strategy and policy. Proposals for HE reform and Welsh Government research and innovation expenditure are now subject of a White Paper (open for consultation until October).
As I (speed)read around the internet I discovered a wealth of activity in Wales: clearly the withdrawal of innovation funding has not entirely sapped the energy for innovation, so imagine what its reinstatement might result in. A national Festival of Innovation (supported by Innovate UK) celebrated academic and company innovation across key industry sectors and the NCUB launched its first report from the ‘Growing Value Wales’ taskforce, looking particularly at university-business interactions. Be the Spark seeks to bring entrepreneurial organisations and investors together, Expertise Wales and IP Wales are platforms that help companies or investors to find people and technologies. The latter is part of the IP Collaboration Project (IPCoP) which is dedicated to strengthening the institutions’ capabilities and capacities in Intellectual Property commercialisation. It brings together a Welsh network of Technology Transfer Officers with outstanding knowledge of each institution’s research base and IP pipelines. These Technology Transfer Officers are able to build on individual and collaborative activities within the IP commercialisation sector in Wales. This should be a landmark TTO project not just for Wales but for other parts of the UK too, and amply demonstrates the value of paying attention to events and activities outside the (English) home turf.
The value of regional representation, special interest groups, and sector-specific skills for our members is being considered as we transition to a single organisation, to address particular contextual needs such as the current innovation funding debate in Wales. Above all, we aim to make our members part of the dialogue and act as a convenor to bring together sector stakeholders – businesses, academics, business groups, sector specialists and funders – to share understanding of what is needed to create more demand for exploitable research and longer-term commitment to sustain spin-outs and start-ups.
The PraxisUnico/AURIL submission to the Reid Review can be accessed in our Resources section.