EUROPE: Universities warned of funding risk to mission

Too great a hunger for external funds may distract universities from their mission and focus, the European Universities Association conference in Bologna was warned. Over-dependence on the private sector can also result in too much application-focussed research at the cost of fundamental and curiosity-driven research.

The EUA conference on its European Universities Diversifying Income Stream (EUDIS) project was held at the University of Bologna from 13-14 September.

The pitfalls and benefits of working with the private and corporate sector were highlighted by Mark Lammarts, director of marketing and communications at the Delft Technical University which earns EUR100 million (US$134 million) a year from contract funding, equivalent to 20% of the institution's total income.

The most obvious danger is that the independence of the research can be questioned, especially when professors play a double role in the university and in the private sector. "You don't want the credibility of the university questioned on television," he said.

Universities have to avoid both the rules being set by short-term ideas and the long-term agenda being set by corporations. The other danger is not steering enough to their own brand values.

To work successfully together a clear and transparent relationship model is needed. So too is an understanding of corporate needs beyond innovation and research.

Like universities elsewhere, Delft has experienced soaring student numbers and lower government income. Increasingly it is turning to the private and corporate sectors to generate income and it is doing so very successfully.

Different ways of cooperating with the private sector include out-sourcing R&D and test research. For instance, Delft has leased out wind tunnels, a high-voltage engineering laboratory, water basins for coastal and marine research, radar and telecommunications test facilities, and aerospace facilities to allow for flight simulation.

It has also established a venture capital fund. One example is Alert Solutions, which develops and supplies sensor systems for monitoring infrastructure works such as levees, dams, roadways and construction sites. In addition, it has secured corporate donations to fund masters in science studies and research.

At the same time dozens of spin-off companies have emerged from fundamental and applied research. These companies currently employ 228 staff and generate revenue of EUR11 million (US$14.8 million) a year.

Priority-setting is essential to work successfully with the private sector, Lammarts suggested.