ilze grante: practices of fostering business-science partnerships at the university of latvia
TRANSCRIPT
Practices of fostering business-science
partnerships at the University of Latvia
Ilze GranteMg.chem., researcher
University of Latvia
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UNIVERSITY OF LATVIA 2015
Number of students
14 0001.75m²
76m²
Humanities 20%
Social sciences 47%
Exact sciences 19%
Medicine 14%
The number of students by study directions
One of the largest comprehensive and research universities in the Baltic States
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Students service, cafe, recreational centre
Dormitory
Sports centre
• Faculty of Biology• Faculty of Chemistry• Faculty of Geography and Earth
Sciences • Faculty of Medicine
• Faculty of Physics and Mathematics+
• 6 State Research Centres
UNIVERSITY OF LATVIA 2015-2020
17.75m²
7.m²
1. Centre of Natural Sciences
2. Centre of Health Science, Mathematics and
Physics
3. Centre of Humanities and Social Sciences
4. Technological Centre of Medicine & Life Sciences
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Centre of Natural Sciences (2015)
2020
............................................Concentration of highly qualified researchers, academics and students from different scientific areas facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation.
Concentration of Knowledge and
Resources
PHYSICS
HISTORY
POLITICS
BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
MEDICINE
ECONOMICS
CHEMISTRY
BIOLOGY
MATHEMATICS
EU 2020 - 3%, Latvia 2020 – 1,5%
% of private investments in Latvia:22% (2013), goal 48% (2020)
• Innovation Centre• Student Business Incubator• Media and Marketing Centre
Survey of the R&Dneeds of industry
Objectives – to obtain information regarding:1)Planned R&D actions- research directions, development of new products;2)The need of publicly available research infrastructure for the development of new products;3)The demand for human resources, new study programmes
Survey of the needs of industry
Application of the results: 1) Prioritization and more effective use of public investments; 2) Development of publicly available innovation infrastructure, pooling resources and boosting technology transfer
Survey of the needs of industry
Involved doctoral students from different scientific areas as interviewers
Focused on enterprises in RIS3 areas of Latvia: 1) Bio-medicine, medical technologies, bio-pharmacy and biotechnologies;
2) Advanced materials, technologies and engineering systems;
3) Smart energy, Information and communication technologies;
4) Knowledge-based bio-economics.
Enterprises in Latvia Survey
Partnership proposals from
HEIsCooperation
models
1) HEIs-business cooperation;2) Prioritization of public
investments
R&D needs, required facilities
Research projects via EU fundsContract researchSpin-offs
ExpertiseFacilitiesResearch management
Summary
54 (24%)
51 (23%)
78 (36%)
37 (17%)
Specialization areas
BioPharmAlliance
NanoTechEnergy
BaltSmartTech
Bioekonomika
Informed and invited to participate in the survey ~2300Participated ~ 460 !
7917%
16135%
22048%
Not interested
Are still being interviewed
Interested in cooperation
Center for testing and investigation of materials
Nanotechnology scale-up facility
Smart energy
Facility for scale-up of industrial processes and optimization
Environmental engineering
Metal processing and material science
ICT innovation center
Scale-up facility for bacteria, algae, yeast and plant cells
In vitro testing and method development
Scale-up and optimization facility for organic synthesis and modification processes
Molecular biology and diagnostics
Pharmaceutical final dosage form technology development
ResultsPerspective research directions,
infrastructure development
Development of research and TT infrastructure
ResultsHuman resources
Industry interaction with students should be increased
Professional development programmes Researchers with business mindset required Mid-level manufacturing managers Practical skills should be emphasized
Development of study programmes at UL
Conclusions
Major part of industries’ R&D needs can be met using the existing facilities and competences !
The lack of publicly available information about R&D opportunities in HEIs hampers the first step towards cooperation
Communication difficulties between researchers and entrepreneurs are mentioned often
Mutually satisfactory cooperation models need to be worked out (IP rights are an issue)
Entrepreneurs in traditional manufacturing areas often cannot see the innovation potential. HEIs should make a first step and young scientists in particular field are good alternative
Difficulties with planning R&D needs in longer periods of time Small enterprises often interested in cooperation with HEIs, but has limited
financial resources
Suggestions• Science and research should be marketed and
communicated more effectively. • Communication with business should be a habit
(Established Media and Marketing Centre at UL)• Use of public finance instruments in case of «risky»
projects/limited private finances. Support necessary for managing projects.
• Shift from fundamental to applied research.• Development of publicly available pilot scale
manufacturing facility – might foster technology transfer and contribute to the development of students’ practical skills.
Cooperation possibilities
• Contract research• EU funded research projects• Competence centers • Small Grants Scheme• Business incubators
Good example:Green Technology Incubator (founded by University of Latvia and Riga Technical University). At least four spin-off companies founded in 2015 at UL.
www.giic.lv
Points for discussion
• Is it worth putting an effort into many small partnerships or only some big ones?
• Can creation of spinoffs really boost innovation in industry?
• Researchers should be more active communicating and searching for partnerships. How?
