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BACK IN THE USA

This week, I am back in the USA or, more specifically, in Massachusetts visiting a number of universities.

Whilst I will be visiting a range of academic institutions over the next couple of days, my primary aim is the launch of a new relationship between the University of Wales and MIT - one of the top universities in the world.

I will blog more on this later this week but, as I have mentioned previously, there are many lessons to be learnt from the MIT experience.

Indeed, the model is so successful that the Singapore Government is replicating it.

As this article describes, Singapore is looking to copy the success of MIT with its own new institution - the Singapore University of Technology and Design - which will be headed up by former MIT Professor Thomas Magnanti, who headed the MIT School of Engineering - the best in the World.

SU opens its doors in August 2011 and its strategy is based on looking at how the world's great entrepreneurial universities - Stanford, which gave birth to Silicon Valley, and MIT do it. It aims to replicate the 'vigorous entrepreneurial ecosystem' to nurture and support students and faculty who want to launch new businesses.

Singapore is putting in place various measures to encourage a research and innovation culture with SU aiming to become one of the world's foremost universities within the next 20 years, producing 'technologically grounded leaders' who will have an impact on society in different ways.

If only we had the same vision here in Wales. Still, the new relationship with MIT could be the first step....

Comments

Chemist/IP lawyer from Wales said…
In Boston (home to the MIT campus) there are numerous law firms that have located themselves to be close to the MIT campus. They get lots of patent drafting and patent prosecution work from MIT.

MIT publishes in learned journals as much as any top university - but it also files patents - a recent discovery concerned faster method of recharging batteries for devices like cell phones and electric batteries in cars. I have no doubt that MIT made sure there were patents filed on this new discovery/invention.

There are universities in former third world countries that file more patents than Wales's largest university.

For all of Rhodri Morgan’s hot air about how well Wales is turning its universities into economic dynamos it is a fact that Wales has no universities in the top 100 (THES, World Rankings).

If memory serves Scotland has three. Cardiff University was in the top 100 - but dropped some 30 odd places taking it out of the top 100. Cardiff University has a large engineering faculty and merged some time ago with the Medical School (which was more patent orientated than former UCC).

Wales (specifically the Welsh Assembly Government) needs to up its game BIG TIME.
November 16, 2009 12:31 pm
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