Sci&Tech History

Most collaborations between companies and academic researchers are initiated by industry scientists looking for specific technologies or expertise, notes Anthony Boccanfuso, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based University-Industry Demonstration Partnership (UIDP), a consortium aimed at improving collaboration between universities and industry. But that doesn’t mean university researchers have to sit and wait for the phone to ring. If you are looking for industry funding, it helps to be proactive.

In many cases, researchers interested in private-sector funding need look no further than their own campuses. Many research institutions already host industry-funded programs. At their most ambitious, these programs are massive, multicenter research consortia that recruit dozens or even hundreds of industry partners. Albany NanoTech, a multibillion-dollar research complex affiliated with the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at the University at Albany in New York state, involves more than 250 corporations, many of which provide major funding for university faculty members. (http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/2008_03_14/caredit_a0800040)

In Indonesia, research is still driven by market and science itself. In the university, engagement between scientist and industry can be found in some MOU, but who drive the research agenda? Do they have the same bargaining position?

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