UK's first ever Professor of technology transfer in the physical sciences announced

Professor Erkko Autio is to become the UK's first ever Professor of technology transfer in the physical sciences, it was announced today.

The £1million professorship is jointly funded by QinetiQ and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Imperial College's Tanaka Business School was selected in competition with other universities to host the professorship due to its excellence in entrepreneurship and innovation and its location at the heart of Imperial College's world class science campus.

The EPSRC-QinetiQ Chair has been established to address the comparative lack of systematic approaches for the commercial exploitation of ideas in engineering or the physical sciences when compared to the growing body of academic research on the commercialisation of innovation in bio-sciences, such as medicine and pharmaceuticals.  The Chair will develop robust evidence about how the innovation process differs across industries and sectors, and demonstrate how it can be optimised to ensure the successful commercialisation of ideas in the physical sciences.

"There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach to innovation," explained QinetiQ Chairman Sir John Chisholm.  "It can be argued that in the pharmaceutical industry new discoveries are the key to creating value, but in other sectors a new invention is unlikely to capture significant value in itself.  Few engineering companies achieve success purely on the basis of one eureka moment.  Instead innovation now tends to be customer-led and it is the connection of several technical capabilities with that real need that releases value.  The EPSRC-QinetiQ professorship will play a vital role in ensuring that effective models for the complex process of transferring ideas between the laboratory and market-place are made pervasive for the benefit of the economy."

Professor Autio, a Finnish academic, has been selected for the post through an openly advertised, international competition.  Prof Autio arrives from the Strategy Institute of HEC Lausanne where he was Professor in Technology Venturing and previously held a teaching and research post at the London Business School where he helped launch the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) initiative.  He has served on the boards of several hi-tech companies in Silicon Valley, Europe and South East Asia and provided consultancy services for McKinsey and the European Commission. 

Dr Randal Richards, EPSRC Interim Chief Executive said:  "I am delighted that Professor Autio is to take the UK's first ever chair in the exploitation of physical sciences.  As the EPSRC-QinetiQ Professor he will play a crucial role in ensuring that the UK's world-leading academic base becomes an even more effective driver of the knowledge economy in the future. With his combination of commercial experience and a strong track record of research on technology venturing, Professor Autio has the background required to ensure the professorship is a success."

Erkko Autio's previous research has focussed on the rapid international growth of technology-based new firms. As the EPSRC-QinetiQ Chair of Technology Transfer in the physical sciences he will lead academic research to establish reliable mechanisms which develop wealth-creating products and services from physical sciences.

Professor Autio said:  "Innovation in engineering and the physical sciences plays a key role in driving economic growth but the process appears to take longer and be more challenging than in the life sciences.  I am delighted to become the EPSRC-QinetiQ Chair of Technology Transfer in the physical sciences and to play a key role in improving the process of exploiting new ideas."

The EPSRC-QinetiQ Chair is located within the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group at Imperial's Tanaka Business School. Professor David Gann, head of the group said: "The importance of technology transfer for growth in the British and global economy cannot be stressed enough. This Chair will develop new business models and policies for improving the effectiveness with which knowledge from engineering and physical sciences can be commercialised and deployed in industry. We are delighted that Professor Erkko Autio has joined the group, he is a renowned expert in international entrepreneurship".

Notes for Editors:

1. Consistently rated in the top three UK university institutions, Imperial College London is a world leading science-based university whose reputation for excellence in teaching and research attracts students (11,000) and staff (6,000) of the highest international quality. Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and management and delivers practical solutions that enhance the quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture. Imperial College's Tanaka Business School is a world-class provider of business education and research, focusing primarily on innovation and entrepreneurship, finance and healthcare management. The School offers full-time and Executive MBAs, Masters programmes in Finance, Risk Management, International Health Management, Management and Actuarial Finance; and a Doctoral programme.

2. QinetiQ (pronounced ki net ik as in 'kinetic energy') is a leading international defence and security technology company that was formed in July 2001 from the UK Government's Defence Evaluation & Research Agency (DERA). QinetiQ has over 11,400 employees, who deliver technology-based services and exploit QinetiQ's strengths in technology research by selling systems solutions, products, managed services and licences to government and commercial customers in a spectrum of defence, security and other commercial markets, and by creating technology based ventures..  In February 2006, QinetiQ Group plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange (main market) and joined the FTSE 250 in June 2006. In the year to 31 March 2006, QinetiQ delivered a 39.1 per cent rise in underlying operating profit to £90.7m on turnover which rose by 22.9 per cent to £1,051.7m.   The professorship is one element of an extensive QinetiQ programme of university partnerships designed to maximise the pull through of university research into real commercial and industrial applications.

3. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the UK's main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences. The EPSRC is investing £650 million this year in research and postgraduate training, to help the nation handle the next generation of technological change. The areas covered range from information technology to structural engineering, and mathematics to materials science. This research forms the basis for future economic development in the UK and improvements for everyone's health, lifestyle and culture. EPSRC also actively promotes public awareness of science and engineering. EPSRC works alongside other Research Councils with responsibility for other areas of research. The Research Councils work collectively on issues of common concern via Research Councils UK.

Contacts:
Tanaka Business School
Eoin Bedford
T:  +44 (0) 20 7594 9154
E:  e.bedford@imperial.ac.uk