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Top story
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Knowledge transfer is the path to growth, says Graham
Knowledge transfer is key to kick-starting the economy, according to Philip Graham, executive director at the Association for University Research and Industry Links (AURIL). Speaking to Spark at last week’s AURIL conference in Newcastle, Graham said his sector was central to helping businesses grow through innovation.
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Enterprise
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Brown takes pride in business focus
Professor Michael Brown is to retire from his position as vice-chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) at the end of August 2011. Speaking to Spark, he said his proudest moment during his ten-year tenure has been incorporating World of Work (WoW) skills into the degree offering. He also criticised other higher education institutions for delivering courses that are “no longer fit for purpose”.
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Academics continue fight for research
Top academics continue to defend university research budgets in the run-up to the Comprehensive Spending Review on 20 October. Professor Michael Arthur, vice-chancellor of the University of Leeds, said the university would make forceful arguments to government, amid fears of a “brain drain” if swingeing cuts are made.
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Imperial tops UK league of knowledge transfer
Imperial College London has been named the top UK university for knowledge transfer in the 2010/11 Times Higher Education (THE) world university rankings. The measure of industry income was one of five categories used in what the publication is calling the “most comprehensive and sophisticated exercise undertaken to provide transparent, rigorous and genuinely meaningful global performance comparisons”.
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Nottingham leads low-carbon charge
The University of Nottingham is spearheading a project to speed up the development of a low-carbon economy in the East Midlands. The aim of the Accelerating a Low-Carbon Economy (ALCE) scheme, which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, is to improve business innovation in sustainable energy technologies.
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Fusion IP boosts revenue sevenfold
Fusion IP has announced an increase in its revenue and portfolio return by 733 per cent. For the 12 months to 31 July 2010, it posted £4.4m - up from £0.6m last year.
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Manchester scientists win Nobel prize
Two scientists at the University of Manchester have been awarded the Nobel Prize for physics. Professor Andre Geim and Professor Konstantin Novoselov have been recognised for their work on graphene, a two-dimensional layer of carbon atoms that resembles chicken wire.
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Licensing agreement reached for tracking software
The University of Bedfordshire has signed a £240,000 licensing agreement to commercialise software designed to track student engagement. Intelligent Engagement has been jointly developed with business intelligence outfit SolStonePlus, which has an exclusive contract to develop the product over the next two years.
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JLR to move to university
Jaguar Land Rover is to relocate its 170-person advanced research group to the University of Warwick as part of a strategy to raise vehicle production from under 100,000 to 300,000 a year.
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Tech high-flyer joins Cambridge Enterprise
Technology entrepreneur Mike Lynch has joined the board of Cambridge Enterprise, the university’s commercialisation office.
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Gum spin-out hits America
A company that started life at the University of Bristol has launched what it claims to be the world’s first degradable chewing gum.
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Courses
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LSE gets stuck into private equity
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) has launched a Masters course and research programme designed to focus on the role of venture capital and private equity in global markets.
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Laing O'Rourke aims to plug skills gap
Imperial College London and building contractor Laing O’Rourke have formed a partnership to help construction professionals learn system engineering skills.
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Events
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Incubation conference to be held in Liverpool
Liverpool will host the ninth annual conference on best practices in science-based incubation next month. The event will take place on 18 and 19 November at the Merseyside Maritime Museum and is being organised by The Technopolicy Network in collaboration with Liverpool Science Park.
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Learn more about KTPs
Thames Valley University will hold an event on 15 October to educate businesses about knowledge transfer partnerships. The one-day programme will be held at the Brentford Campus.
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