Switzerland consistently ranks top in knowledge and technology transfer between industry and academia in worldwide reports on the competitiveness of countries. Top quality academic researchers and clinicians, the access to patients in up to date clinical infrastructure, and flexible and lean processes for collaborations and technology transfer are key ingredients. The national association Switt (Swiss Technology Transfer Association) strives to further facilitate collaboration at the industry - academia interface.
The collaboration of Swiss universities and university hospitals with industry has a long and successful tradition, in particular in areas such as chemistry, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and micro-electronics. The main reason for this is the ability of Swiss academic institutions to attract top-notch researchers from around the world. In studies on the impact of scientific publications Switzerland consistently ranks among the top five countries in various scientific disciplines, in particular in the life sciences.
Beside a sound basis in science, successful co-operation with industry requires the interest and openness of the researchers to collaborate with the private sector, and lean and flexible guidelines and processes to set-up and manage collaborations in a cost-effective and timely manner, thus avoiding unnecessary transaction costs for the parties involved. There are different possibilities on how academia and the private sector can interact, such as sponsored research collaborations, contract R&D projects, clinical trials and consulting.
Different Types Of Interaction
The most common type of interaction between universities and companies are sponsored research collaborations. Such projects are typically set-up for one to two years and address scientific questions of mutual interest. Depending on the type of project and the progress made they might be extended for longer periods. More strategically oriented, large multi-year collaboration agreements with large companies also exist. Such collaborations usually focus on a broader scope and might involve many different research groups at the university that work in related fields. The results of these projects are usually published in scientific journals after the protection of commercially interesting inventions by a patent application.
Another type of interaction is the execution of contract R&D tasks for companies, which are particularly common at universities of applied sciences. Such projects are usually much shorter and focus on the application of existing know-how of the academic partner to solve a specific question of the company. Universities and in particular university hospitals often perform clinical trials together with pharma or biotech companies. Finally, consulting performed by university professors for companies is yet another way of interaction between academia and the private sector. Faculty members usually have the possibility to spend a certain time on consulting work upon approval of the university.
An important source of funding for joint R&D projects with academia is CTI, the Commission for Technology and Innovation, which is part of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs. CTI provides funding of up to 50% of total project costs. The remaining costs have to be covered by the company in kind and partly in cash. The funding provided by CTI is non-reimbursable and goes to the academic partner, in particular to cover personnel costs. The main focus of CTI is on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) but large companies might also qualify depending on the project.
Commercialising University Research Results
Universities perform a lot of research on their own in a broad range of scientific disciplines. These research projects are mostly funded by public sources such as the Swiss National Science Foundation or university funds but also by various foundations and charities. Such projects regularly lead to results with commercial potential. Bringing new products and services which are based on such academic research results to the market often requires extensive development by or in collaboration with an industrial partner. Thus, universities are looking for appropriate partners for the licensing of such results and the corresponding intellectual property and know-how. A list of available technologies from Swiss universities can be found on the unique Swittlist (www.swittlist.ch), a product provided free of charge by Switt.
Another route to commercializing research results is the creation of new spin-off companies to further develop academic technologies. Depending on the project and the type of product such spin-offs might either market the products on their own or sub-license the technology to a larger company with more resources to launch and market the product.
Professional Support At Universities
In order to facilitate industry collaborations and to optimize the processes to set-up and manage them, most Swiss universities have established technology transfer offices in the past two decades. In contrast to similar offices in other countries, technology transfer professionals at Swiss universities usually have a background in private industry besides their academic education. This is instrumental in better understanding the needs of the industrial partners in research collaborations or in the licensing of academic technologies.
The establishment of technology transfer offices helped boost the activities at the interface to industry. A recent European-wide study performed by the College of Management of Technology at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL, report available at http://cdm.epfl.ch) showed that Switzerland is among the top countries in all relevant criteria of technology transfer between academia and industry, such as the number of sponsored research collaborations, the number of licenses and the number of spin-off companies.
Switt was founded a few years ago by the professionals dealing with technology transfer at the universities. The association now has more than 90 members mainly from academia. Last year membership was opened for people dealing with academic collaborations in industry who can now become business members of Switt.
The mission of Switt is to facilitate and strengthen the co-operation and the technology transfer between Swiss public research institutions and the private sector. The association offers professional training and development for its members and other practitioners involved in technology transfer. It also aims to foster an optimal regulatory framework. Switt offers a number of products such as the unique service Swittlist mentioned above. Another example is Swittreport, an annual survey of technology transfer activities of Swiss universities and other public research institutions.
If handled properly industry - academia collaborations represent win-win opportunities. Industry gets access to top-notch researchers and clinicians, to the broad knowledge and network of academic research and to well-educated young talent. Academia profits from industrial know-how, relevant research topics and additional research funding. Established processes on setting-up collaborative research projects are in place at most universities and researchers are supported by experienced personnel at their local technology transfer offices.
Co-operation between companies and academia is a major driver of innovation. Swiss universities and university hospitals are attractive partners for industry due to the top-class academic research performed and the professional management of technology transfer matters.
