Is the glass half empty or half full

1
Is the glass half emptyor half full?

• Dr Anil Kumar
• Director, Education Policy
• The Engineering and Technology Board
• Engineering Professors Council Annual Congress
• Session 4 - The Future of HE
• 5th April 2006

2
The Engineering and Technology Board is a
registered charity that aims to tackle the
significant yet unaddressed needs of the UK's
science, engineering and technology industry and
to create a unified platform and voice. We work
in partnership with business and industry,
Government, education and the profession to
improve the perception of science, engineering
and technology (SET) in the UK. The driving
force behind this partnership is the desire to
ensure a supply of appropriately skilled
individuals to meet the present and future SET
skills needs of UK plc
3
The future of HE

• Prediction is very difficult, especially if its
  about the future
• Nils Bohr

Maximise the Innovation Process Entrepreneurshi
p
4
The contribution of science, engineering and
technology to the UK economy

• SET-intensive sectors produced 252.3 billion,
  27.3 of the total UK value added in 2002
• There are around 2.5 million people in SET
  occupations in the UK, both within the SET
  intensive sectors and elsewhere, including
  services.

5
Government Investment in RD

• UKs investment in RD as a proportion of GDP to
  2.5 from 1.86 2002. by 2014. 2002 France 2.2,
  Germany 2.51, USA 2.67. 40 increase in SET
  skills
• Evidence suggest that UK may need to produce at
  least 5000 additional researchers each year. 

• Needs to be achieved by
• Maintaining or growing RD in sectors where RD
  is strong e.g. Pharma.
• Attracting investment into UK from
  multinationals.
• Increasing RD intensity in firms or sectors that
  are lagging behind their peers.  
• Developing new RD intensive sectors.
• The creation of RD intensive SMEs.

6
UK RD

• British Researchers produced 13 of the worlds
  most cited papers (2003)
• UK researchers most productive 16 papers per 1
  million US 9.2 Japan 3.6
• UK has embarked on 10 Year Science and Innovation
  Strategy Science Budget to grow to 3.4 billion
  per year by 2008
• However, research papers are not enough require
  exploitation therefore emphasis is on Knowledge
  transfer and innovation.

7
University collaboration

• Market value of university spinouts floated in
  2004 was 604 million 0.24 of SET Gross Value
  Added!
• Today 24,000 science and engineering students are
  receiving enterprise training, whereas the figure
  in 1998/99 was 3,000
• Greater responsiveness of the research base to
  the economy is still required.

8
Industry R D expenditure in UK HEIs growing
9
But income 300 less
10
So What?

• Spinout activity is not as successful at creating
  income as it should be.
• Opportunity for engineering departments to
  positively influence this issue.
• Propose integration of entrepreneurial activity
  into engineering departments.
• But arent we already doing this?
• Not effectively enough see previous charts

11
So What?

• Engineering depts need to take the lead and
  engage with business schools and spin-outs to
  properly exploit engineering knowledge.
• This has to be led by technical specialists with
  assistance from business schools not the other
  way round.
• Engineers with the ideas and expertise engaging
  with business savvy individuals who can
  commercialise the ideas.

12
So what?

• We want to maximise the innovation process
• Opportunity for eng departments
• 4th year MEng projects/ PhDs use real world
  technical examples jointly carried out with MBA
  students.
• Business Interdisciplinary projects not just
  X-engineering projects.
• Bring the entrepreneurs into Engineering Schools
  for joint projects cf. sending engineers to the
  business school for a few lectures.
• Provide incentives share of IPR/
• More akin to what happens in the real world.

13
Benefits

• Helps Market your courses - differentiates.
• Your Students are more employable.
• Keep them in engineering retention.
• Strengthen relationship between engineering and
  entrepreneurship maximise innovation.
• More money for Engineering departments spin
  outs.
• Wealth creation for UK plc

14
What now?

• Need like minded engineering departments.
• Need like minded business schools.
• Need like minded spin outs.
• Working towards real world multi-disciplinary
  projects.
• ETB keen to test and develop this process in
  partnership with like minded stakeholders.

15
Half Empty
Half Full?
The best way to predict the future is to invent
it." Alan Kay