Last Thursday, I was honoured to be able to attend the Cardiff University Innovation Network annual awards for innovation.
Since its creation in 1996, the network has held events for over 7,200 people and is now the first port of call for businesses that want assistance from the University.
It was an excellent evening and showcased what could be achieved when academia and industry work together for a common cause. The winning projects made me proud to be a Welsh academic and were as good an example of collaborative working as you would find in any institution in the World.
For example, the link-up between Atkins Middle East and Cardiff University’s Welsh School of Architecture has led to the design of a low energy and low emission high-rise building in Dubai. To give you an idea of the scale of the problem to be solved, a challenging target was set to reduce the normal energy consumption of this structure by 65% and water consumption by 35%.
All of this was to be achieved whilst retaining world class facilities and comfort in a hot desert climate for a building which would have 4,000 occupants over 65 storeys. Using computer simulation and analysis reductions could be made which would not have been possible with previously existing methods.
As a result, the innovative solutions explored for sustainable building design, and the procedures which were followed, are now being considered for future low carbon projects globally. Certainly, there is no reason why, with such expertise at our disposal here in Wales, we cannot lead the world in these areas if the right level of funding is provided for the School’s research.
Another world class partnership recognised at the awards was that between Inhibitex Inc and the Welsh School of Pharmacy. This has brought about the development of a new drug for shingles, a condition which affects around 2.5 million people worldwide each year.
Working with scientists in Belgium, a research group at Cardiff University discovered a compound which, in initial trials, demonstrated superior selectivity and 10,000 times greater potency than existing drugs. This was then licensed to a company that was eventually acquired by Inhibitex Inc in 2007. The development process has been highly collaborative, with the academic team fully integrated into many of the drug development issues.
In addition, the partnership has resulted in funding for a research fellow and support for a PhD student, and increased academic knowledge of drug development which has been incorporated into teaching modules. Most significantly, it has the potential to make a huge impact on a market which has an estimated potential revenue of some £250 million. It would be a magnificent boost to high technology industry in Wales if we could attract the future production of this pharmaceutical product over here.
Finally, the innovation awards recognised the collaboration between local business TerraDat (UK) Ltd – founded by two of the university’s graduates - and the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences.
Their joint project focused on assessing the landslide risk within unstable areas using long term monitoring techniques. By applying novel techniques, such as using small hand-controlled helium balloons with digital cameras and high resolution GPS instead of costly, time consuming aeroplane or helicopter surveys, the team succeeded in developing a highly innovative rapid, cost effective system which has the added advantage of being portable.
Again, the potential for the product is global and shows that small firms in Wales can benefit directly from the academic expertise generated within university departments.
These three projects demonstrated not only that market-focused innovation is alive and well within Welsh academic institutions but, more importantly, that links with industry are being created which are making a real commercial and scientific impact.
As I have emphasised in this blog time and time again, the role of universities in revitalising the Welsh economy cannot be overemphasised. Cardiff is certainly showing the way with a range of innovative projects and I am sure that there are many more similar collaborations occurring within other academic institutions across Wales.
At a time when the gap between higher education funding in England and Wales is widening and the Welsh economy remains rooted to the bottom of the UK prosperity league table, policymakers must hold their nerve and ensure that they focus their efforts on ensuring that endeavours such as these are not only encouraged, but sufficiently rewarded.
Comments
Nevertheless, it must be said that there is no room for any complacency here. In a global context, these achievements are relatively small and have little impact on the overall economy of Wales. Also, I have business clients whose views of academic involvement in projects is not quite as rosy as you make out. My own perception (from experience I hasten to add) is that dealing with academics is a very expensive, inflexible and non-productive exercise. Most academics are 2-5 years behind the cutting edge of any research or innovation and are unskilled at pushing projects to a commercial conclusion. They also do not (cannot)allocate sufficient time or resources to collaborative projects because of other (teaching, grant application writing) demands on them.
Ideas are cheap. Implementation is not.
You ask that policymakers 'hold their nerve' but, with respect, that is like asking sheep to fly.
As I have pointed out before there are good solutions to this but it needs determination and vision.