ArchiveMajor partnership between UK and Chinese Universities is announced by Tony Blair and Chinese Prime Minister
The first research and knowledge transfer partnership that will enable UK and Chinese higher education institutions (HEIs) to develop and commercialise joint research world-wide was announced today (Wednesday 13 September) at a press conference held by Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Coordinated, within the UK, by Queen Mary, University of London, Innovation China UK (ICUK) is one of a series of initiatives between the UK and China unveiled by the two Premiers.
China now has the biggest Research and Development (R&D) workforce, and the third biggest R&D investment in the world. ICUK supports collaborative research and innovation in areas such as energy; sustainable environment; aerospace; e-science; marine technology and drug developments and therapies for infectious diseases. As such it represents a huge opportunity for the UK to benefit from China's fast developing economy. The project has been awarded £5 million in funding by the UK Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) - which supports knowledge transfer and increased business engagement in universities. China is providing funding through its Ministry of Science Technology (MoST) in partnership with the Chinese Ministry of Education. MoST has confirmed its support for the fund and its core principle of "equal partnership, equal investment and equal sharing of beliefs," echoing comments made recently by Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell about the need for reciprocated transfer of expertise and facilities between UK higher education institutions and those in the emerging markets.
ICUK will involve both the UK and China contributing funding and human resources to lead:
- An ICUK Collaboration Development Fund to enable UK and Chinese HEIs to develop and commercialise joint research and innovations for the economic benefit of both countries. It will be used for proof-of-concept research; business development; technology commercialisation and staff exchange.
- A system for jointly assessing, awarding and governing the Collaboration Development Fund.
- A programme of complementary activities for knowledge networking, exchange and dissemination.
- A framework for jointly developing and exploiting intellectual property (IP) agreements and commercialising joint innovations.
Professor Adrian Smith, Principal of Queen Mary, University of London, said: "This project came about as a result of past experience working with UK and Chinese HEIs, where it became evident that many research-intensive HEIs already have significant UK-China R&D collaborations. However, outcomes of such joint research are rarely commercialised as a result of the huge cultural barriers and the lack of dedicated support for UK-China technology transfer. ICUK aims to deliver dedicated UK-China technology transfer support, lower barriers, and facilitate the commercialisation of UK-China research outputs."
