Dr Kogila Balakrishnan, Director - Client and Business Development - WMG

I have always enjoyed working with industry, both in my previous role in the government influencing and drafting policies for industrial growth and in my current role in business development, research and teaching.

However, having spent more then 10 years in the academic environment, I realise that there is still a huge opportunity that exists between industry and academia in research and education collaboration.

To catalyse the development of relationships between academia and industry, it is important to acknowledge the differences between the two. Within industry, performance is primarily measured by profit and revenue and is often focused on patents and shareholders benefits, whilst for academic institutions performance is measured by publications and grants and remains focused on institutional rankings.

There is much effort taking place in the UK through platforms such as Innovate UK, the Royal Society’s Science, Industry and Translation Committee, and the KTN Network to further enhance collaboration between industry and academia.

According to the Global Innovation Index 2020, the UK currently ranks as one of the top three countries in Europe, after Switzerland and Sweden and ranks fourth amongst high income economies after Switzerland, Sweden and the United States. However, we need to ramp up this effort if the UK is to sustain its position with other leading nations in the innovation league table. The reason for this isn’t solely on what position we are seen to adopt within a rankings table as a nation, but rather to ensure that our industries, organisations and skilled workforces continue to operate on the cutting edge of new technologies, products and services.

Businesses and academic institutions need to continue to work closely to address the ‘valley of death’, and advance along the technological readiness level scale leading to commercialisation. This is absolutely vital for the UK to grow and become a global leader in innovation.

These are my top 6 tips on how businesses can engage with academic research:

1. Encourage and facilitate researcher secondments in industry – There are many academics who, after their first degree, continue to doctoral research. Yet while they are well grounded in an academic environment, there are still many learning opportunities within an industry environment, particularly around exploring new working cultures. This often creates a gap between academics and businesses. Undertaking a period of industry secondment can eliminate some of these prejudices and develop mutual trust between the two entities.
2. Industry funded PhD/Eng. Doctorates – There are many opportunities nowadays for industry to engage researchers from their organisations and to fund an Engineering Doctorate or PhD. This means their research staff can work with university researchers to solve an industry-based problem. This is not only economical but it also develops in-house research expertise and long-term capability.

3. Student Internships - Most postgraduate students are looking for paid or unpaid research internships with businesses. These students can be taken on-board for internships and gain experience in real-world industrial research. This includes a fully rounded view of the sector, including industrial management of IPR, writing and filing patents and negotiation with other business entities or competitors.
4. Link with the Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence scheme – There is still a lack of up-take from the business community in relation to time spent within academic institutions for research purposes. It is so important to establish relationships and trust between researchers and for businesses to understand the academic culture. This is the only way that true collaborative innovation can be maximised between industry and academic. For this, more businesses could take advantage of the RS scheme.
5. Encourage business to train academics in IPR creation and management – There is often a tension between businesses and academia around who owns the IPR in a joint research project. Such disputes can leave a bad taste in the relationship and reduce the chances of future collaboration. Hence, it is also good for academics to learn how their IPR is created and managed by businesses. This is challenging considering both parties have a strong interest in owning the IPR, but the best way forward is to align the management process between the parties.
6. International joint supervision – The UK delivers very high standards and quality of research outcome and impact. This advantage should be leveraged to share research practises and values with international researchers. At the same time, this would conjure up more opportunities for UK businesses and academic institutions to collaborate internationally to conduct industrial and technological research for economic and social impact.

In conclusion, although there are many components to consider, in reality, it is possible to maximise collaboration between academic and industrial institution. At WMG, University of Warwick, we have a track record and have done this successfully over the past 30 years. We are now a leading exemplar of how businesses and academia can work together to enhance innovation. We work with 500 businesses in the UK and internationally to bring cutting edge industrially relevant research and innovation to the forefront.

Find out more about WMG’s research here.