Written evidence submitted by University
of Bath (TIC 03)
1. What is the Fraunhofer model and would it be
applicable to the UK?
The University of Bath welcomes the Government decision
to adopt proposals made by Dr Herman Hauser in his report outlining
Technology Innovation Centres in the UK. We have strong commercial
relationships both in learning and teaching as well as research
and the Fraunhofer model would be highly applicable to providing
a means of building strong academic-commercial partnerships and
focus them on developing skills and applications as directed by
business consortia. A further attraction, and one that Bath is
particularly suited to, is the need to combine technology strengths
with those of social sciences and in so doing create an environment
that can not only make important technology developments but one
that addresses the acceptance of these changes in society.
The challenge from the dynamic economies of China,
India and the Far East, initially was seen as undermining our
manufacturing base, but is now threatening our role as knowledge
generators and exploiters. In order to preserve the UK's knowledge
base in engineering and technology, both academia and industry
need to work together effectively to create a multidisciplinary
knowledge hub. It was, and remains, our contention, that this
would be engendered by research projects which, when combined
with advanced education and training programmes, would attract
internationally mobile R&D investment together with personnel
from multinational companies and overseas research institutes.
The i4 Concept
The University of Bath has long been an advocate
of the need for a Fraunhofer model in the UK. Our working title
for the equivalent model, suitably adapted to the UK environment,
was entitled the Institute for Integrated Industrial Innovation
(i4).
The i4 concept focused on the delivery of cross-industry
relevant research and innovation as a national exemplar of a new
sort of university facility. The i4 concept:
- involved co-located industrial/academic teams
bringing together a complete state-of-the-art view for projects
conducted in a "Knowledge Sharing Environment";
- was truly multidisciplinary drawing from engineering,
management, social sciences, life sciences, and mathematics, in
addition to digital information management;
- envisaged projects would analyse the factors
that affect productivity, not just in manufacturing industry but
also in service provision whether private or public sector;
- was planned as an inter-university collaboration
including the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Southampton and Surrey
(the SETsquared partnership that has been an effective relationship
for over 10 years), Exeter and the University of the West of England
(UWE);
- aimed to become a large (circa 250 people) community
comprising researchers, industrial secondments, academics, and
research students with a single focus for endeavour: innovative
design and productivity enhancement; and
- planned to provide education and qualifications
at the Professional Doctorate level. Working within a team of
cross-disciplinary researchers and secondments, students would
work under academic supervision on industry-led projects at the
interface between academia and business.
In the mid 2000s we actively sought support for this
concept from many areas including EPSRC, CBI, DTI (as it then
was), SWRDA, GOSW, Dyson and commercial partners (Honda, Motorola,
Ford Motor Company, BMW, Airbus, BAE Systems, Vestas Wind Systems,
Bailey of Bristol, Eli Lilly, Bank of England, Rotork, Renishaw
and Instron) to name but a few. We were unable to gain the financial
support we needed at that time, but we believe that the current
focus on the Fraunhofer model reinforces the value of what we
were seeking to achieve.
2. Are there existing Fraunhofer-type research
centres within the UK and if so, are they effective?
There are some research centres in the UK that could
be developed into a true Fraunhofer type environment, including
for example Warwick, Cardiff and Bath. The EPSRC has also established
a small number of Integrated Knowledge Centres and over time these
may grow to become contenders for additional TICs, or be consumed
by an existing TIC, subject to them meeting business requirements.
However to fully achieve Fraunhofer status there
is need for further investment and we therefore welcome the recent
announcement by the Coalitional Government to put aside £200
million for this purpose. Our concern would be the sustainability
of a UK Fraunhofer-type centres based on a model of initial Governmental
investment coupled with further funding through alternative mechanisms,
we would rather encourage Government to see the importance of
long term investment in developing these Centres and earmark ongoing
funding for part of their budgets.
3. What other models are there for research
centres oriented toward applications and results?
MIT - Manufacturing Institute
This was established through funding from the National
Science Foundation to provide a bridge between the traditional
approach of academia and the requirements of industry. It goes
beyond the scope of most academic research facilities by developing
and deploying cost-effective, market-driven working technologies
up to and including installation on the factory floor. This is
achieved by drawing upon MIT's expertise and academic research
base and working closely with industry, government agencies and
other universities.
MIT - The Center for Innovation in Product Development
(CIPD)
CIPD was founded in 1996 as a National Science Foundation
Engineering Research Center. It unites industry representatives
with leading researchers to investigate both the theory and practice
of the end-to-end product development process, specialising in
complex systems and focusing on custom-built projects designed
to solve sponsor-defined problems. The Institute currently has
30 staff and 30 PhD Students.
Stanford University - Center for Design Research
(CDR)
CDR promotes design and manufacturing through facilitating
an understanding of the team design process and the development
of advanced tools and methods. Corporate staff from research,
development, manufacturing and management sectors work with CDR
staff and PhD students at the interface between product-driven
corporate R&D and process-driven academic research.
University of Illinois at Urbana—Champaign
Manufacturing Research Center
The Center focuses on leveraging the investments
of industrial members and its own resources to improve manufacturing
competitiveness in the world economy. It conducts collaborative
research projects with its member companies, educates students
in the problems and issues of manufacturing and provides a broader
access to the laboratories and programs of the University of Illinois.
Georgia Institute of Technology - Manufacturing Research
Center
The Center has more than 60 researchers. It brings
together a multidisciplinary faculty and student body to form
a forward-thinking research and educational program that targets
specific industrial needs in long- and near-term research. The
industrial partners play an important role in driving the program
to produce results that are readily implemented into the manufacturing
process. The Center's 120,000 square foot facility was opened
in 1991 and was designed to be readily adaptable to the strategic
research agendas facing industry and academia.
Aalborg University, Denmark - Centre for Industrial
Production (CIP)
CIP was established in 1999 as a national centre
of excellence in industrial manufacturing. It is committed to
initiating and coordinating research in this area and to developing
the capability necessary to increase the future competitiveness
of Danish industry. Industrial partners support the research undertaken
by providing opportunities for case studies and field experiments
and by suggesting potential directions for future research relevant
to their needs.
These examples show that there are various models
available. However, no international groups have been identified
that have the breadth of cross- disciplinarity envisaged for the
University of Bath's Institute of Integrated Industrial Innovation
(i4).
4. Whose role should it be to coordinate research
in a UK-wide network of innovation centres?
The University of Bath believes that the Technology
Strategy Board (TSB) is the appropriate body to coordinate a UK
wide network on Technology Innovation Centres. Not only has the
TSB a strong strategic vision of business needs in the UK but
has successful established and run collaborative research mechanisms
and Networks to ensure appropriate, innovative university research
activities are embedded into businesses.
We would not expect TSB to run individual TICs, rather
that they be hosted by an appropriate body that has a strong track
record in working at the academic-commercial interface.
The University of Bath, ranked 9th in the UK
by the Sunday Times Good University Guide 2009 has particular
strengths in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
(STEM) subjects plus expertise in Social Sciences (for the human
implementation process). Bath would therefore be highly suited
to take the lead on a TIC such as our proposed Institute for Integrated
Industrial Innovation (i4). We have strong commercial partners
who would lead and guide i4 and would be supported by the
SETsquared partnership comprising the Universities of Bath, Bristol,
Southampton and Surrey which has an established reputation for
business incubation and delivering economic and societal impact.
5. What effect would the introduction of Fraunhofer-type
institutes have on the work of Public Sector Research Establishments
and other existing research centres that undertake Government
sponsored research?
We do not believe the introduction of Fraunhofer
institutes would necessarily affect the work of existing Government
sponsored research. The new institutes would be of specific business
focus and complement existing centres, calling on their capabilities
as needed to undertake activities on their behalf. It would be
important to ensure that proposed Fraunhofer institutes play a
key role in integrating existing research establishments and University
research centres. The institutes would be key drivers of competitiveness
through the training and education of engineers, managers and
social scientists with regards to innovation across industrial
sectors. By conducting research in a multidisciplinary, cross-industry
environment, involving team members drawn from a variety of industrial
and academic disciplines, they would significantly enhance the
impact of business-higher education collaboration.
Professor Kevin Edge
Deputy Vice Chancellor
University of Bath
November 2010
| 
