Skip to main content

Currently Skimming:

Technology Transfer from Universities
Pages 272-301

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 272...
... TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FROM UNIVERSITIES Universities HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER The development of German universities in the nineteenth century was influenced by the idealist philosophers as well as the growing industrial sector's need for well-trained personnel. Philosophers like von Humboldt, Fichte, and Schleiermacher influenced
From page 273...
... Finally in 1911, the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, the predecessor of the Max Planck Society, was founded, at that time with a strong focus on applied science and nearly totally financed by industry. The increasing engagement of industry in government or industry institutes outside universities was stopped by the economic problems caused by the two world wars.
From page 274...
... In the 1970s, German universities began to consider seriously their role in technology transfer, and university-industry relationships grew. Between 1970 and 1980, industry support of universities increased by 25 percent, and between 1980 and 1990, such support grew by 44 percent.
From page 275...
... At about 12 percent, however, the share of research conducted by former East German universities is quite small. In 1990, 49 percent of the total research budget of German universities was related to natural sciences and engineering (Figure 3.15)
From page 276...
... Year Basic External Total Basic External Total Basic External Total 1980 4.82 1.36 6.18 4.82 1.36 6.18 100 100 100 1981 4.92 1.47 6.39 4.69 1.40 6.09 97 103 99 1982 5.08 1.51 6.59 4.68 1.39 6.07 97 102 98 1983 5.26 1.54 6.79 4.71 1.38 6.09 98 101 99 1984 5.31 1.73 7.04 4.69 1.52 6.21 97 112 100 1985 5.51 1.78 7.29 4.75 1.54 6.29 99 113 102 1986 5.86 1.95 7.81 4.95 1.65 6.60 103 121 107 1987 6.19 2.15 8.34 5.11 1.78 6.89 106 131 112 1988 6.53 2.26 8.78 5.31 1.84 7.15 110 135 116 1989 6.83 2.40 9.23 5.38 1.89 7.27 112 139 118 1990 7.29 2.56 9.85 5.53 1.94 7.47 115 142 121 1991 8.64 3.53 12.17 6.27 2.56 8.83 130 188 143 1992 9.33 3.83 12.16 6.50 2.67 9.17 135 196 148 1993 9.59 4.25 13.84 6.41 2.84 9.26 133 208 150 1994 10.06 4.48 14.53 6.53 2.91 9.44 136 213 153 1995 10.31 4.56 14.90 6.56 2.93 9.49 136 215 154 SOURCES: Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie (1996) ; Bundesministerium für Forschung und Technologie (1993a)
From page 277...
... A major reason for this growth was the introduction of collaborative research projects in 1984, whereby several industrial partners as well as university institutes work together (Bundesministerium für Forschung und Technologie, 1993a; Lütz, 1993)
From page 278...
... Compared with the total research budget of universities -- including institutional funds -- industry support represents a mere 4.4-percent share. The industrial funds can be divided into donations, money for collaborative research, and money for contract research.
From page 279...
... Compared to the average situation, this value may be artificially high, since in 1991 the Second and Third Framework Programs of the EU overlapped. But even if EU contributions came to roughly DM 100 million, this is still a relatively small amount compared with total external funding for German universities (see "Impact of European Research," above)
From page 280...
... If the more realistic share of 7.5 percent of industrial funds, according to the BMBF data, are taken, the German level including related infrastructure funds is even substantially above 10 percent. On the basis of available statistics, it is quite difficult to assess the growth rates of external funding for specific disciplines because the disaggregated figures for 1980 and even 1985 are quite incomplete.
From page 281...
... These findings support the general results for external university funds. Electrical engineering, computer science, chemistry, and biological sciences (including geography)
From page 282...
... The funds for collaborative research as well as for research contracts increased considerably during the 1980s; the greatest growth was in the areas of electrical engineering and computer science. ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURES The different means of technology transfer at German universities are largely determined by the public status of these institutions.
From page 283...
... It is almost impossible for professors and scientific staff to engage in secondary activites together. Another important aspect for technology transfer is the organizational structure of German universities.
From page 284...
... . TRANSFER CHANNELS At German universities, the major channels of technology transfer are collaborative research with industrial partners funded through BMBF projects and contract research for industrial clients.
From page 285...
... , with upper limits. Therefore, companies contribute to the base funds of university institutes only in few cases of special common interest.
From page 286...
... Consultancy by university professors for private clients is in general carried out as a secondary activity, because professors can obtain income in addition to their regular salary. In addition to consultancy and expert evaluations, professors also can conduct research for private companies as a secondary activity.
From page 287...
... Technology transfer units serve also a catalyst function by bringing industrial clients and university institutes or individual professors together. The units often help companies find the appropriate institute or professor to address specific problems.
From page 288...
... The latter could in theory be a means of accommodating parallel activities of scientific staff at universities and external institutes. In practice, this instrument is rarely used.
From page 289...
... The activities of private institutes and particularly An-Institutes represent a considerable portion of technology transfer. According to a recent official survey, the R&D-related expenditures of An-Institutes amounted to DM 580 million in 1994, equal to 4 percent of the R&D expenditures of universities and about 50 percent of those of the Fraunhofer Society (Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie, 1996)
From page 290...
... . TABLE 3.3 Response Rate of Survey Sent to German Universities, by Focal Area Area Questionnaires Sent Out Questionnaires Sent Back Response Rate Production technology 185 97 52% Microelectronics 155 60 39% Software 175 68 39% Biotechnology 268 107 40% Total 783 332 42%
From page 291...
... , so the actual rate of industry-related activities is even higher. Production technology, microelectronics, software, and biotechnology are ranked first through fourth, respectively, in terms of the percentage of industrial funds that make up their total budgets.
From page 292...
... It is interesting to note that in all areas, the universities do not restrict their activities to basic and applied research but devote some effort to experimental development work. A rather interesting result shown in Table 3.4 is the relatively low level of secondary activities within industrial contracts (average 15 percent)
From page 293...
... For instance, contract research has a high score in the application-oriented area of production technology, and a low score in biotechnology with its distinct focus on basic reasearch. A detailed discussion of these differences, however, lies beyond the scope of this study.
From page 294...
... This finding was confirmed by interviews, in which university scientists emphasized the relevance of information from industry for their research and for improved, practice-oriented teaching. As already explained in the context of administrative structures, the flexibility of industrial funds compared with public funds is a major incentive for German universities to undertake contract research for industry.
From page 295...
... The same phenomenon emerges with respect to the TABLE 3.10 Average Mean Scores in Major Question Groups Area Channels Benefits Barriers Production technology 2.8 3.3 2.1 Microelectronics 2.8 3.2 2.2 Software 2.6 3.0 2.3 Biotechnology 2.3 2.9 2.2 Total 2.6 3.1 2.2
From page 296...
... In biotechnology, for instance, a great increase in applied research and a corresponding reduction in basic research would be detrimental to the quality of research given the present stage of the area's technology life cycle. Comparison with the American Situation The results presented above give interesting insights into how technology transfer occurs at German universities.
From page 297...
... software development. The level of industry contributions to the UIRCs is generally higher than the average level of industry contributions to German universities, because the special mission of UIRCs is to improve technology transfer.23 In contrast, the German survey sample covered all types of university institutes and also included institutes with few industrial relationships.
From page 298...
... . Because of the different structures of German university institutes and American UIRCs, responses to the UIRC survey do not always have a counterpart in the German survey.
From page 299...
... data sets are not really comparable due to the different types of questions asked. TABLE 3.15 Benefits of Industry Contacts at UIRCs, by Percent, and at German Universities, by Mean Score Percent Share of UIRCs German Mean Score R&D funds 91 3.5 Opportunity to confer with industry 70 3.4 Equipment 68 2.8 Information on industry needs 56 -- Operational funds 49 -- Access to industrial facilities 45 -- Practical experience for students 38 -- Research direction 36 -- Industry personnel loaned to academic programs 22 -- Other 6 -- None of the above 1 -- SOURCES: Cohen et al.
From page 300...
... Among the most important are that most universities have neither funds nor infrastructure to support patenting and licensing activities; inventions resulting from federally funded academic research generally can only be licensed on a nonexclusive basis to industrial partners; and a portion of any licensing income earned from developments with federal government funds must go back to the funding agency. In recent years, the University of Karlsruhe and the University of Dresden established patent and licensing offices comparable to those at American universities.
From page 301...
... 1200 Professo Number of Applications (private 1000 800 600 N 400 200 0 8 0 8 1 8 2 8 3 8 48 5 8 6 8 7 8 8 8 9 9 0 9 1 9 2 9 3 Application y FIGURE 3.19 Patent applications to the German Patent Office by German university professors. NOTE: private = application by the professor; total = includes applications by firms or other institutions.


This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More information on Chapter Skim is available.