Technology Innovation Centres

Written evidence submitted by University of Bath (TIC 03)

Technology Innovation Centres

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.

· 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