Top Australian universities to get $200m research booster from UK-based IP Group

university of new south wales — The campus of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, August 4, 2016. Reuters/Jason

The top eight universities in Australia will be awarded with $200 million funding from an intellectual property commercialisation company in the United Kingdom. The Group of Eight, a collation of the country’s most research-focused universities, announced on Tuesday that it is teaming up with London-listed IP Group PLC.

According to its chief executive Vicki Thompson, the funding reflected the value of Australian research. She described it as a “cautionary tale” for government’s cuts to higher education.

The agreement would allow Aussie universities and the University of Auckland in New Zealand to share a $200m funding pool over the next decade. It would be available to researchers who aim to commercialise their ideas into spin-off start-ups and companies.

Peter Grant, managing director of new partnerships at IP Group, further described the arrangement, saying that all nine universities are going to have a commercial arm and obtain inventions and ideas from staff. The universities will then discuss ideas with IP Group, and the company will help translate those ideas into potentially investable businesses. “In order for us to be interested, the universities need to produce top quality research, there needs to be a long-term partnership and there needs to be potential to raise extra capital, preferably from the region,” Grant said, according to a press release published at go8.edu.au.

'Lifeboat in a sinking ship'

Grant shared that they think people in Australia are hesitant to invest early in commercialisation because of the risks that come with it. He added there are several things that do not make it past the innovation pipeline, and it is where the IP Group comes in.

The vice-chancellor of the University of Queensland and the Group of Eight chair said that funding would be essential in helping more projects. Group of Eight chairman Peter Hoj believes the funding, which he said is similar to a lifeboat in a sinking ship, will attract more investors such as super funds. He explained that the IP Group will have “an equal right of first refusal,” not an exclusivity over the university’s intellectual property.

National Tertiary Education Union president Jeannie Rae welcomed the new funding, but argued it must not be seen as a substitute for public investment and wanted to ensure the funding of the blue-sky research. According to Rae, the Group of Eight has been vocal about the need for sufficient funding, something they mainly expect from the government.