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The UK has a long history of university-industry research collaborations, with about two thirds of R&D funding coming from the private sector.   The recent 2018 State of the Relationship Report from the National Centre for Universities and Business noted that the UK now ranks 6th in the world for industry-university collaboration.  And with the UK Government has committed itself to growing R&D from 1.7% of GDP in 2015 to 2.4% by 2027, that’s great news.  But the report notes that 75% of private sector UK R&D is carried out by only 400 businesses.   Of the businesses that work with universities, the 2015 Dowling Review notes that a significant portion of these were headquartered outside of the UK.  If the UK is going to continue the trend of increased foreign investment in business collaborations with UK universities, what can universities do to increase their appeal to multinationals?

We’re asking a series of KE experts on the industry side, what makes their company choose to work with UK Universities, and how UK KE practitioners could up their game.  These R&D-centric multinationals have a wealth of collaboration choices, and naturally, a finite amount to invest.  How can the UK gain an edge?  Noelle Gracy, Head, Research Collaboration Office at Elsevier talked to Malcolm Skingle, Director, Academic Liaison to find out how GSK benefits from collaborating with UK universities.

Earlier this year I reflected on the 2017-18 HE-BCI data published by HESA; mentioning the step forward in terms of its presentation as an Open Data set and the bonus FAQs for the more straightforward queries. But I also pointed out how the data can reveal the unexpected and how it is hard to understand the real dynamics, or stories, behind the data sets. In particular, I noted that although the data provides an important snapshot of university knowledge exchange (KE), it’s increasingly recognised that data for KE needs to be more diverse in order to provide a better understanding of KE dynamics within research organisations and with their collaborators. So, as many of our members consider how to respond to the current HESA consultation on the HEBCI data, we thought we would republish the article (see below). You can find similar thoughts in the SpinoutsUK Quarterly Journal June 2019 by OUI's Adam Stotten, who delves into the 'HEBCI fruit basket'. 

The HESA consultation closes on Wednesday 11th December, full details available on the website.  

The 2017-18 HE Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) data was released last week by HESA and showed year-on-year increases in almost all categories (consultancy income showed a small drop overall) bringing total UK university-business income to a record £4.5 billion. As Sean Fielding, PraxisAuril Chair said at the time these figures are a “vote of confidence in university expertise and know-how” and demonstrate that the sector is strong even in what we know are difficult economic and political times. PraxisAuril members should feel proud of the role they play in achieving those figures: a contribution which often goes unnoticed (especially when it’s all going well!).

With the focus firmly on our upcoming spring conference 2018, we thought that it was a great opportunity to catch up with Mike Bath and Rupert Osborn from our Conference Committee. Mike and Rupert have both volunteered with us for some years – we ask why they do it, and if they would recommend it to others!

PraxisAuril and the National Centre for Universities and Business, (NCUB) have a lot in common in both supporting the UK’s big ambitions for R&D investment and knowing that partnerships between UK universities and business are key to addressing the challenges facing society and industry today.