by Bill Magee
Bill Magee is a leading Scottish technology journalist.
Anyone in any doubt that Scotland is getting its act together to promote itself as a hotbed of hi-tech activity should check out the new web portal – www.university-technology.com.
There you’ll discover an online database of licensing and tech transfer opportunities originating from each and every one of the country’s universities. “Innovating our way out of recession” is the strap-line and the site has been created as a single convenient location to improve business and industry engagement with Scots research institutions, and hopefully attract fresh investment to Scotland while boosting the country’s reputation as a centre of technological excellence.
It means that prospective investors do not need to trawl endlessly through numerous university websites to find a commercial opportunity, before giving up and moving on to a competitive site possibly outwith Scotland.
University Technology is driven by what’s been billed as a “unique collaboration” of Scots universities. Derek Waddell, the director of research and commercialisation at University of Edinburgh, says it’s all about working together to help companies find what technologies are available for licensing and collaboration opportunities, in essence to solve their problems and help businesses grow.
I repeatedly bang on about how tech can significantly boost an enterprise’s productivity, ROI and bottom line, and so it’s heartening to witness this occurring as a reality. Recent university-based opportunities include a modular reconfigurable robotic system, chemo/anti-cancer therapeutic compounds, and optical microfluidic sorting techniques.
The portal also simplifies the technology transfer process by making it easier through providing a set of standarised documents and agreements covering confidentiality, licensing and collaborative development. There’s a customisable plug-in tool to each university’s website where latest opportunities are highlighted from one, or more, sectors.
Check it out…
