Wonder why that is, - as I recall my polytechnic professor provided oodles of support during my research, but I would have thought that was the case throughout the UK.
Scottish universities are best in Britain at turning research into business, report says | The Times
Scottish universities are best in Britain at turning research into business, report says | The Times
Scottish universities are the best in the UK at converting their research into businesses, a new report has found. In the past decade, more so-called spin-out companies have been set up north of the Border than anywhere else.
More than a quarter of those set up in the UK last year were formed in Scotland — ahead of both London and the South East of England, which were responsible for 15 and 12 per cent respectively. Last year proved a particular boom year for Scotland, with the percentage of spinouts more than its country’s decade average of 20 per cent.
There are currently 800 active university spinouts in the UK, attracting more than £1 billion investment over the past two years. The PraxisUnico Spinouts UK Survey, supported by law firm Marks & Clerk, is claimed to be the first comprehensive overview of the sector. Scottish universities dominated its top ten institutions from 2010-12, with Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Strathclyde and Heriot Watt all making the list.
Life-sciences spinouts made up the largest proportion of any industry in the UK, at 42 per cent. Spinouts are companies formed to exploit intellectual property owned by a university and do not include start-ups, which are formed without intellectual property.
Paul Chapman, a patent attorney and partner at Marks & Clerk, said: “This survey shows Scottish universities are up there with the likes of Oxford and Cambridge when it comes to commercialising their research. Over the past decade Scotland has been a market leader in terms of creating spinout companies. Providing suitable infrastructure to support new spinouts is equally important and Scotland has excellent facilities. But there can be no room for complacency. The impact of austerity cuts was picked up by this study, which showed that universities across the UK were spinning out fewer companies in 2012 than in 2011.
“It is vital to the success of the Scottish economy that we continue to use our world-class science base to generate new businesses and grow jobs through spin-outs.”
Peter Estibeiro, the chief executive officer of i2eye diagnostics, an Edinburgh University spinout, said that the success was driven by “a uniquely Scottish combination of world-class intellectual property, willing investors and committed support from Scottish Enterprise”. University research is shaping up to be one of the battlegrounds in the independence debate. Last month, experts claimed that Scottish scientists risked losing access to international facilities in the event of separation.
The Institute of Physics in Scotland said that the Government would also need to consider how funding from influential UK charities would be maintained.
A spokesman for the pro-Union campaign Better Together said: “The people who are making new discoveries and working on finding new treatments for diseases are backed by hundreds of millions of pounds from UK research councils. It would be utter madness to put this at risk.”
A Scottish government spokesman said: “We understand the importance of our international reputation, which is why we pledged to increase the funding to our universities, starting with an additional £75 million in 2012-13 rising to a total of over £1 billion in 2014-15.”
More than a quarter of those set up in the UK last year were formed in Scotland — ahead of both London and the South East of England, which were responsible for 15 and 12 per cent respectively. Last year proved a particular boom year for Scotland, with the percentage of spinouts more than its country’s decade average of 20 per cent.
There are currently 800 active university spinouts in the UK, attracting more than £1 billion investment over the past two years. The PraxisUnico Spinouts UK Survey, supported by law firm Marks & Clerk, is claimed to be the first comprehensive overview of the sector. Scottish universities dominated its top ten institutions from 2010-12, with Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Strathclyde and Heriot Watt all making the list.
Life-sciences spinouts made up the largest proportion of any industry in the UK, at 42 per cent. Spinouts are companies formed to exploit intellectual property owned by a university and do not include start-ups, which are formed without intellectual property.
Paul Chapman, a patent attorney and partner at Marks & Clerk, said: “This survey shows Scottish universities are up there with the likes of Oxford and Cambridge when it comes to commercialising their research. Over the past decade Scotland has been a market leader in terms of creating spinout companies. Providing suitable infrastructure to support new spinouts is equally important and Scotland has excellent facilities. But there can be no room for complacency. The impact of austerity cuts was picked up by this study, which showed that universities across the UK were spinning out fewer companies in 2012 than in 2011.
“It is vital to the success of the Scottish economy that we continue to use our world-class science base to generate new businesses and grow jobs through spin-outs.”
Peter Estibeiro, the chief executive officer of i2eye diagnostics, an Edinburgh University spinout, said that the success was driven by “a uniquely Scottish combination of world-class intellectual property, willing investors and committed support from Scottish Enterprise”. University research is shaping up to be one of the battlegrounds in the independence debate. Last month, experts claimed that Scottish scientists risked losing access to international facilities in the event of separation.
The Institute of Physics in Scotland said that the Government would also need to consider how funding from influential UK charities would be maintained.
A spokesman for the pro-Union campaign Better Together said: “The people who are making new discoveries and working on finding new treatments for diseases are backed by hundreds of millions of pounds from UK research councils. It would be utter madness to put this at risk.”
A Scottish government spokesman said: “We understand the importance of our international reputation, which is why we pledged to increase the funding to our universities, starting with an additional £75 million in 2012-13 rising to a total of over £1 billion in 2014-15.”
Comment