Anthony Doesburg writes about a recent Auckland event bringing universities and businesspeople together to showcase university R&D.
Sir Ray Avery, a scientist and former New Zealander of the Year, also suggests that another way to bring New Zealand up the International Innovation Index rankings, is to start with a real world problem and then use science to find the solution.
An excerpt: (read in full here)
“Yesterday’s University of Auckland session focused on the biotechnology industry, and still to come are agritech, Maori business and ICT, among others.
“When it’s all over, the universities will count the new contacts made and sit down with the Tertiary Education Commission, which funded the exercise, to decide whether it was worthwhile.
“This isn’t exactly speed dating. The incubation period for new ventures can be anything from three months to a year and, since the first match-making session last May, one product – a robot that cares for the elderly – has come out of the process.”