1. Benefits for HEI collaborating with SME

2. Summary
Duration: 1 hour
Terms: Prestige of the University, Commercialize Research, Research
Publications, Legitimacy, Funding
Educational Objectives:
The aim of this module is to show the HEI some important benefits of
collaboration with SME.
• Explore the possibilities to introduce the research into the market.
• Show how this relation can increase the publication opportunities of the
researchers.
• Chance to demonstrate the practical application of research works
• Allows to get an extra foundation

3. Introduction
Publication
Legitimacy
Opportunities
Benefits
Commercialization
the Research Funding

4. Introduciton
Conduct Research Leading
Innovations
Challenge
Discoveries

5. Introduciton
SME
R&D

6. Introduciton
Paradigm Change
European Commission: “Improving knowledge transfer
between research Institutions and Industry across
Europe”

7. Introduciton
Knowledge transfer between research institutions and industry
consist of a variety of activities, including, for example:
Gifts and endowments by
Research institution-industry industrial partners
staff-exchange programmes (egg. professorial chairs)
Collaborative and contract
Consultancy work
research

8. Introduciton
Reasons to be “personally important” (Yong S. Lee, 2000):
•To look for business opportunity
•To supplement funds
•To secure funding for research
assistants
•To test the practical
application
•To gain insights in the
•To create student
area of one’s own
internships and job
research
placement opportunities
•To gain knowledge about
practical problems useful for •To further university’s
teaching outreach mission
•To look for business opportunity

9. Research benefits
Foster new
research areas
License
May increase HEI
financial resource
Royalties
Develop new
teaching
opportunities

10. Benefits of Collaboration.
Lets look at a best practice Lappeenranta University of Technology
 “LUT has a long history combining technology and business.
That’s a good basis for an environment for innovation.”
 “Business excellence rarely centers around only performance.”
 “Linking technological advances with commercial aspirations is
in the core of many innovations.”
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dYgQwUPaw0

11. Benefits of Collaboration.
What is your role in technology transfer?
Innovation is the complete process of ideas transforming into products:
Idea Technology Development Diffusion
Transfer
HEI Industry

12. Benefits of Collaboration
HEIs and SMEs have always been on the same team, this process portrays
how the collaborations works and where the HEIs role is how important.

13. Commercialization of Research.
• Opens up a number of different opportunities for a HEI:
- create revenue
- make an impact
- can be stimulating for department and students
• Diversify funding base
- In the future: funding will be tied to measurable outcomes
• Informative video about the benefits of commercialization of
research: “From Research to Commercialization”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2RbujJ2Z0U

14. Publication Opportunities.
• Applying the research to real-world situations, adds a great
element to potential writing pieces.
• The opportunity for publication is beneficial to the professor,
the institution itself, as well as students:
– Such publications are a reference for students seeking to
pursue careers at a HEI or in a SME
– And gives them insight into how a successful economy
functions best
– Not to mention, provides an over-all understanding of a
necessary partnership in society

15. Publication Opportunities.
Scientific Productivity.
• Researchers who combine research and university-industry
relation activities obtain compared with those members who
concentrate only on research (Manjarrés et al., 2008):
• Higher scientific productivity
• Achieve higher status within their institutions
• Better opportunity to access state-of the art equipment,
artifacts and data to carry on their projects.

16. Funding
Mean values of contracts
120.000
100.000
80.000
60.000 University-Industry and Research
Just Research
40.000
20.000
0
R&D Contracts Technological support Training contracts
and consultancy

17. Funding
Mean values of reserach projects
120.000
100.000
80.000
60.000 University-Industry and Research
Just University-Industry
40.000
20.000
0
R&D Contracts Technological support Training contracts
and consultancy

18. Legitimacy
The main indirect benefits for legitimacy
(European Commission: “Improving knowledge
transfer between research Institutions and
Industry across Europe”):
•Development of mutual trust between HEI&SME,
• The enhancement of research institutions research activities.
• Gaining status and prestige, resulting from successful partnerships
and products.
• The enhancement of research institutions teaching activities.

19. Legitimacy
The main indirect benefits for legitimacy
(European Commission: “Improving knowledge
transfer between research Institutions and
Industry across Europe”):
•Attracting, retaining and motivating good scientists interested in
entrepreneurial aspects or in new professional career opportunities.
•Contributing to public authorities better recognising the socio-
economic relevance of publicly-funded research, potentially leading to
increased funding thereof.
•Facilitating exchanges of staff between the research institutions and
industry

20. Legitimacy
• Faculty who receives industry support are more likely to report that their
choice of research topic is influenced by the project’s commercial potential
(Blumethal et al., 1996)
•HEI active in “knowledge sharing” (highly valued and
supported)
• Positive recognition and vision of HEI as part of the
“solution”
• HEI as a symbol of public institution willing be a part of
innovate culture.
•The market and more importantly the community are
more likely to consider HEI because of their involvement
with other organizations.

21. Funding
• Government funding is declining.
• Rise in competitive external funding.
• Diversify funding base.
• Income generation via consultancy, services, commercialization, IP.
• Investment strategies.

22. Funding
The European Social Fund:
• Increased emphasis on strengthening
research and innovation, particularly
through knowledge transfer.
• Through European frameworks programmed is indented to encourage
innovation.
• The Framework Programmes also funds the intersectional mobility of
research staff, including university-industry exchanges.

23. Funding
New Competitive and Innovations Programs
• Will support all forms of innovation, public-
private partnerships and measures to improve
access to finance.
•Complementing their own academic research by securing funds for
graduate students and lab equipment (Yong S. Lee 200)
• Desire of acquiring additional resources, relevant to choose the intensity
of collaboration (Tartari and Breschi, 2009)
• Fiscal budgets constraints encourage HIE to move towards more
competitive funding sources (Geuna and Nesta, 2006)

24. Conclusions
Research Benfits (Subtanial and Considerable)
80%
70% 67% 66%
60% 56%
50%
38%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Funds to support studenst and Gained insights into the Acquiring practical knowledge Helpful in locating student
lab equipment academic research useful for teaching interships and placement

25. Conclusions
Likelihood of furure research collaboration SME-HEI
60% 57%
50%
40% 37%
30%
20%
10%
3% 3%
0%
Expand Maintain Reduce Not Sure

26. Bibliography
• Blumethal D., Campbell E.G., Causiano N., Luois K.S. (1996), “Participation of
life science faculty in research relationships with industry” The New England
Journal of Medicine, Vol 335, No.23,pp.1734-1739
•European Commission: “Improving knowledge transfer between research
Institutions and Industry across Europe”
•Genua A. Nesta L.J.J. (2006), University patenting and its effects on academic
research: the emerging European evidence”, Research Policy, 35,790-807
• Manjarrés L., Gutierrez A., Vega J. (2008), “Coexistence of university-industry
relations and academic research: Barrier to incentive for scientific production”.
Scientometrics, Vol. 76, No. 3 (2008) 561-576
•Tartari V., Breschi S. (2009), “Set them free: scientists’ perception of benefits and
cost of university-industry research collaboration.”, CBS – Copenhagen Business
School Summer Conference.
•Yong S. Lee. The Sustainability of University-Industry Research Collaboration:
An Empirical Assessment