Large rewards for universities from industry contracts

Universities are extracting maximum bang for their collaborative buck, with contract income nudging A$1billion (US$745 million) while returns from most other commercialisation activities go backwards, writes John Ross for The Australian.

Earnings from a revenue category dubbed “university income from industry and other funding for research” have tripled this century and dwarf other types of research commercialisation outcomes. Revenue from this source has risen almost every year since 2005, reaching A$981 million in 2014 – up from A$331 million in 2000 – according to the latest innovation report card.

But earnings from most other intellectual property arrangements have nosedived. Universities and other publicly funded research agencies reaped just A$99 million from licences and options in 2014, the worst result since 2005, after the number of these arrangements fell by one-third in a single year.
Full report on The Australian site