Our excellent research must be translated into practical applications more quickly to meet society’s needs. The faculty's departments have an extensive portfolio of research, ranging from curiosity-driven basic research to higher-TRL research that can be tested on a realistic scale. Experience has shown that research is often enhanced by knowledge-exchange, iterative processes and dialogue with partners in industry and other external actors. To realise this goal, it is important both to put in place robust support for our researchers and to cultivate a culture of collaboration that promotes curiosity, openness and flexibility. Both are necessary preconditions for the development and realisation of new ideas. On this background, we will work with two complementary – and mutually reinforcing – concepts. Specifically, we will:
We will create a unit tasked with professionalising and supporting external collaboration across the entire faculty. Leveraging our research strengths, we will establish recurring meeting formats that will bring together researchers from the university and industry and other external actors to explore issues and challenges of common interest. Examples of relevant formats include the successful Brainnovation Day concept developed by Chemistry/Physics or experiences with incorporating ‘design thinking’ and hackathons as practised by IT research groups in Katrinebjerg. Many researchers are interested in getting involved in more external collaboration, but they lack the time, networks and administrative support. We will therefore provide support for these activities in the form of dedicated ‘innovation facilitators’ who have a relevant scientific background, familiarity with the university and a network in industry. Such collaboration will enhance idea generation and networks for our researchers, and can form the basis for the development of concrete, focussed collective projects involving researchers from the university and external actors working together on a specific theme with dedicated support.
OiS is about facilitating collaboration without IP barriers between researchers from the university and industry within clearly defined subject areas in the ‘early discovery’ stage. With significant foundation grants available for a specific disciplinary challenge, research groups from industry and the university can apply for funding for joint projects. Researchers at NAT have developed the OiS concept, and we will explore opportunities for the creation of new platforms, for example within materials research. In addition, we will work to promote the concept internationally, for example through the upcoming EU framework programme.
Other initiatives aimed at fostering collaboration with society will also be rolled out under the aegis of AU’s strategy. We will ensure that NAT’s activities supplement and complement the existing ecosystem of current and upcoming activities. Examples include the existing activities at The Kitchen, the Partnerhuset (“partner house”) hub in the University City, the Life Science Hub (where researchers and spin-outs have easy access to modern lab facilities close to the research groups), as well as INCUBA and Delphinus Venture Capital. In addition, AU’s strategy calls for the establishment of a new innovation hub with an accelerator within cyber IT. It will build on our positions of strength within computer science and the innovation ecosystem that has been developed at IT City Katrinebjerg over the past many years.
