INTERVIEW

‘More research
exploitation is needed’

Valorisation, the translation of research results into society, is a crucial part of the Commission's proposal to revitalise the European Research Area (ERA). Through the ECIU Innovation Directors group, good practices in innovation that impact society are shared and brought to the EU level. Mindaugas Bulota (Kaunas University of Technology), chair of this group, shares experiences and recommendations.

Text: Editorial team
Photo: KTU

What are the strongest recommendations from the ECIU position paper "From Valorisation to Impact" for the EU to become more competitive?

‘In our paper we emphasise how enhancing knowledge valorisation can strengthen European competitiveness. Europe needs to do more to increase the commercialisation of research results. There is a significant potential to better harness the commercialisation of research results generated through EU-funded research and innovation activities. Notably, recent reports by Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta have underscored the need for increased focus on this area.’

How can universities contribute to this?

‘We believe that universities can serve as agents for Europe's competitiveness. Through ECIU, we advocate for a more coherent and integrated approach to innovation across Europe. Some key recommendations include streamlining Intellectual Property (IP) rights across Europe to facilitate innovation and ensuring consistency in the management of intellectual assets. We also see the need to simplify State Aid rules related to technology resulting from university R&D, as these can often be too complex for effective collaboration between universities and industry.’

What additional recommendations are included in the report?

‘At the EU, national, and institutional levels, financial resources need to be made available to provide a pathway for commercialising research results. Many research results have great innovation potential but are too early-stage to secure private investments. Improved access and flexibility in financial support are required at all levels: from early-stage funding to mechanisms for funding disruptive, high-risk ideas. This also relates to funding coming from private investors. Our group is keen to collaborate on European Commission strategies such as the European Innovation Act and the Start-up and Scale-up Strategy.’

‘For the commercialisation of research results, a partnership with the local ecosystem is key’

What organisational and cultural changes are required within universities to move from valorisation as a side activity to an integrated, systematic driver of societal impact?

‘At ECIU member universities, we have taken steps to integrate entrepreneurship into the curriculum and foster stronger industry-academia partnerships through initiatives such as dual appointments. We have seen that Technology Transfer Offices (TTO) can play a key role in bridging research and industry. TTO professionals can act as trusted intermediaries to connect commercial and non-commercial entities to apply research findings. Another proposed intervention is to establish Industry-Academia Sabbaticals, allowing researchers to immerse themselves in industry environments. Furthermore, creating innovation residencies where researchers collaborate with start-ups or tech incubators can facilitate the application of research to real-world products.’

And how does that apply at a later stage, when discussing start-ups and scale-ups?

‘In the context of the start-up and scale-up strategy, the European Commission called for more adequate rewards for multi-track careers. The Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) is a key initiative that a university should sign up to, aimed at changing current research assessment methods in Europe by including the broader impact of research on society and academic entrepreneurial activities as assessment criteria. This would award time spent in industry, start-ups, or tech incubators.’

How do we engage societal stakeholders in co-designing valorisation pathways?

‘For the commercialisation of research results, a partnership with the local ecosystem is key. University Science Parks, for example, can help to ensure the readiness and acceptance of the innovative idea. Science Parks can act as platforms to foster these relationships, facilitating interaction between researchers, businesses, and community stakeholders to co-create innovation pathways that address societal needs. Stakeholders such as entrepreneur or industry professionals can establish close links with university research groups, for example, through structured mentoring programmes. They can to help researchers identify pathways to valorise research results and commercial opportunities. Overall, a collaborative mindset is essential for creating more impactful and relevant research outcomes.’

Engagement
in EU Projects

The Innovation Directors have recently submitted two projects in the field of Knowledge Valorisation under Horizon calls, bringing together different players from regional innovation ecosystems.

The VALORAI project (European AI-powered Network for Strategic Knowledge Valorisation Intermediaries) aims to unite technology transfer offices, incubators, innovation agencies, and NGOs into a durable, inclusive community of practice to strengthen cooperation and turn knowledge into societal and economic value.

The second proposal, the AI4KV project (Artificial Intelligence for Knowledge Valorisation), aims to bridge the gap between research excellence and societal impact by providing tailored AI tools for IP assessment, adoption pathways, and funding matchmaking.