Hoi mede-HLers,

 

Kwam zojuist dit Engelse initiatief tegen. Denk dat dit ook iets voor Nederland is. Wat denken jullie?

 

Met vriendelijke groet,

 

Ties

 

 

Proof of concept fund launched in South East

London, 17/05/2005, (www.biotext.co.uk)

 

PoCKeT (The Proof of Concept Knowledge Transfer Fund) has been launched in the South East of England to provide access to funds for small to medium-sized businesses.

 

Co-financed by South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA) and the European Social Fund (ESF), PoCKeT aims to transfer knowledge from the region's education institutions into the business community.

PoCKeT will make awards of up to £30,000 to businesses to fund activities such as technology validation, research by specialist academics, or the use of a university's facilities and equipment. The fund is unique in being the only proof of concept funds which directly supports collaboration between SMEs and education establishments.

 

The intention is for joint exploitation, between businesses and universities, of intellectual property rights (IPR) at the commercial proof of concept phase. The fund is managed by Finance South East, which will handle all applications.

 

Interested businesses will generally have identified and approached a potential university partner before applying to the fund.

 

"PoCKeT is an excellent opportunity for SMEs in the South East to take advantage of the specialist skills, knowledge and facilities of the region's universities," said Sally Goodsell, chief executive of Finance South East.

 

"Our aim is to help achieve greater collaboration between the innovative minds and resources of both the university and private sectors. Successful projects where the intellectual property can be commercially exploited will repay the award to provide future funding to benefit more entrepreneurs at the proof of concept stage."

 

Ed Metcalfe, SEEDA's head of science, technology, enterprise and management added: "Lack of funding at the proof of concept stage is a major barrier to innovation and commercial development both inside and outside of higher education institutions. With all regional development agencies now placing knowledge transfer high on their agendas, this new stream of PoCKeT funding is an excellent example of how SEEDA plan to enable a greater degree of co-operation between the universities and the SME community in the South East."

 

Is dit niet een beetje waar ze bij de TU eindhoven ook niet aan werken ?

De hightechcampus ?

En een klein beetje waar die innovatievouchers voor zijn ?

Een heel goed initiatief, hopelijk kunnen de SKE-fondsen straks in Nederland een zelfde effect realiseren.