How academia and industry can accelerate the commercialisation of bio-based materials and products
Aline Miller, Professor of Biomolecular Engineering and Associate Dean for Business Engagement and Innovation, The University of Manchester and Director of the NW Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Catalyst
Engineering biology is a truly transformative technology, that has been recognised as one of the five critical technologies for which the UK is perfectly positioned to lead the world. The growth of investment in this area has the objective of contributing to economic activity and sustainable resource-efficient solutions to societal challenges faced in food, chemicals, materials, water, energy, health and environmental protection.
The UK is currently a lead in this area, with a strong academic base, and a thriving community of SMEs. To remain globally competitive, we need to take a holistic view of the innovation ecosystem and work together. By leveraging theworld-leading science, research, innovation, and teaching asset base of our UK academic sector, will enable industry to accelerate knowledge exchange, impact, and innovation, delivering a more productive, more R&D intensive economy that takes companies to the next level of commercial success, stimulates further private investment and secures the exponential growth that field can deliver.
In this talk, Aline will highlight the drivers for building academia-industry partnerships and outline different mechanisms of how industrial partners can harness recent technical advances and channel University research and education strengths to deliver economic, social and scientific impact. I will also discuss how to build effective and sustainable partnerships that facilitate translation of knowledge and skills to drive innovation.