Importance of Collaboration Between Academia & Industry For the Future of Construction Research (PART 1)

1. Why do we need collaboration? What are the benefits? How can we do it? What are the challenges to be overcome? SOME PRACTICAL CONSIDERTATIONS IN TERMS OF COLLABORATIVE WORKING...

2. "Collaboration between industry and academia will continue to play an increasingly central role in helping us deliver on our shared vision for the future of technology…..Microsoft is constantly deepening its partnership with academia, and is committed to jointly developing new ideas and solving many of the key challenges in computing.“ Bill Gates 24 July 2001

3. What is the “shared vision” in construction?

4. Since October 2001, the UK has invested almost 300 million GBP (444 million euro) in knowledge transfer, enabling universities, colleges and hospitals to increase their research and development potential and build strong links with industry. 213 new spin-off companies were set up in 2005, compared to an average of 70 a year before the Higher Education Innovation Fund was set up. The turnover of spin-off firms increased from 212 to 289 million GBP (314 to 428 million euro), while the number of people employed by such companies went from 10,500 to 12,000. Furthermore, over the same period, the income received from intellectual property by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) increased by 83 per cent, and the number of patents recorded by HEIs rose by eight per cent. HEI income from contract research for business increased from 266 to 328 million GBP (394 to 485 million euro), while HEI income from consultancy increased from 103 to 122 million GBP (152 to 181 million euro).

5. 'Such encouraging results demonstrate what universities and business can achieve when they work together,' Alan Johnson, Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education.
…….'We have always maintained our commitment to encouraging effective university-business collaboration. I am confident that the increased resources we are providing through the Higher Education Innovation Fund will go a long way in boosting and increasing the success already recorded in this area‘…..

6. The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) – a bigger driver for the “research-led” universities
A significant part of the assessment related to involvement with Industry in terms of research
Those Departments/Universities that scored highly had significant involvement with Industry through research projects.



7. The School of Civil Engineering at the Univeristy of Leeds, for example, saw increased involvement of Construction Industry in terms of Industrial Advisory Board – strategic development of School, Employers Group – sponsorship of students, careers, Input to the curriculum (in addition to accreditation by the key professional bodies), support to teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level, Site and office visits, CPD courses for the Professional institutions, Short internal courses designed for construction firms.

8. RAE success partly due to; Increased involvement of Construction Industry with research projects, Consultancy work (through the University), Some funding from Industry but mainly through other National or European Grants, Industrial involvement (in-kind support; time and human resources).

9. Why were construction firms keen to collaborate? Reputation, Social responsibility, Alumni (sense of loyalty), Sponsorship opportunities, Access to students at all levels (work placement and graduate jobs), Interest in the research that was being undertaken, Access before anyone else.

10. External demands? Government role as a sponsor reduces creating the incentive to go to the private sector for funding/sponsorship of academic activities. Business increasingly needs research and development to bring about inovation in products and services. Being a “research-led” university demands close interaction/collaboration with Industry and the Professions.

11.What are the barriers to academic/industry collaboration? Attitudes of Industry, The Institutional Reward System. What academics research.

12.Industry believes academics “…. have their heads in the clouds…”, “…are too theoretical”,
“..are out of touch with reality”...

13. From the academic perspective, the institutional reward systems for promotion and tenure do not, in general, provide motivation for academic investigators to partner with industry. Academic promotion criteria are tied to original publications, rather than commercial success,
International academic peer-reviewed journals

14. Academic investigators tend to focus on basic discovery or early development of projects.
Their primary interest is in publishing their work as opposed to promoting its commercial maturation and dissemination to Industry/the Professions. Industry cannot carry too many high-risk projects in their portfolio given the competitive pressures companies face.

15. How can we get more academics interested in real collaboration with Industry if this work is not considered a key performance indicator by academic institutions? Who reads academic journals other than academics? If we are going to increase collaboration with Industry/Professions what are the best ways of disseminating research?

16. So what are the benefits of academic/industry collaboration?

17. Traditionally, the interaction between industry and academia is perceived to be a one-way knowledge transfer from university to industry. However, there is a shift in this perception, and the industry-academic relationship is now acknowledged to be a process of mutual learning.
In the environment of a knowledge-based economy, the initiation of collaboration between industry and academia will allow investigation of new frontiers of knowledge to the mutual benefit of both parties.

18. From the perspective of industry, the motivation for their collaboration with the academic community can be viewed in both a direct and indirect manner. The traditional perception is that academic research provides direct contribution in terms of basic research, which may be too time consuming or costly for industries to engage in. However, other motivations may be more subtle, the most significant being the access to scientific frontiers which brings industry close to state of the art information, scientific networks and developing joint competence in building new fields of interest.

19. An outcome of this collaboration is the development of new products and processes, which would not have been possible had both parties acted independently. The industries’ relationship with academia is particularly valued for its access to expertise, skills and problem-solving capabilities. It is far more effective for industry, in the case of a particular problem-solving scenario, to consult an expert already well versed in the field of that problem, rather than employ a full time employee who would need to build his knowledge base from scratch.

20. In addition, collaboration with academic institutes would provide access to facilities in universities for experimental and testing purposes. Another tangible benefit from this relationship is in terms of recruitment – for example, students engaging in a particular project sponsored by industry will be familiar with the set of skills and expertise required by that particular company. From the perspective of academics, the motivation for their collaboration with industry is mainly related to sources of funding.

21. The decline in government support, increased research costs and an increasing pressure to produce research have been the driving force in the increase of industry-university collaboration. Other relevant factors include an access to industry facilities, exposure of students to real industrial environments and an access to industrial technical expertise.

END OF PART ONE!