Lessons from MURP A Summary Presentation for HE

Lessons from MURP A Summary Presentation for HE. The Rector. , King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia September 2002 1 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Introduction l Macquarie University Research Park, a success story is surrounded by World’s leading R&D Companies. » » » » Restricted to Research & Technology Particularly in areas which are strengths of MU The Research and Teaching Programs of MU now concentrate on technology (especially in areas of physics, earth science, electronics, computing, etc. Earlier it was a liberal arts college) The University has won recognition through major centers, research grants and industry sponsorship » All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission Copyright: 2

The Challenge l To forge closer ties and have strong enduring links with the industry (earlier, more universities were reluctant to embrace collaboration with industry, and industry similarly was shy of academia) 3 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Establishment Conceived in late 1980 s l Established within MUs own boundaries l » Easy access » Helped use links in a wider precinct » Helps fostering relationships with tenants l Park was launched in 1996 (7. 3 Hectares) 4 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Funding l l Land was attractive to tenants and investors It was therefore decided that the park should be financed entirely by private investment This gave the university independence, and more importantly it exposed its plans to the reality test of the market? ) It was later recognized that government was unlikely to fund 5 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Planning A master plan was created for the Park l Various planning approvals were obtained in advance l » This helped increase the Park's attractiveness » Minimized the risk for developers and investors » Helped obtain commitments from future tenants 6 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Joint Venture l l l The university selected a leading construction company, to enter into a joint venture to develop MURP The company accepted the financial risk and invested substantial funds in planning, marketing and infrastructure In return the company obtained the right to construct every building (buildings were to be designed and maintained to the University's standards) 7 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

The Agreement 8 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

A Concern It was required that all future tenants must be capable of willing to work with the University l Provisions were worked out to ensure that the Park achieves the University's aims and does not degenerate into just another business park l 9 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Macquarie’s Motives l l l To contribute to economic development. For MU to be more skilled at industry collaboration To attract tenants who can have useful association with MU Commercialize research through incubation and start-ups To earn income through ground rental and use it to support research 10 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Preferences and Main Goal Preference for companies was in the strengths of the university (KFUPM has a larger number of strengths. . . ) l While collaborative research was a major goal MU was interested in attracting organizations capable of 'forming any useful association with the University' l 11 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Relevant MURP Activities l l l l Joint Projects and Industry Projects Work experience programs for undergraduates Mentoring opportunities for MGT students Sharing of equipment and Labs Custom designed management and technical education programs for tenants Advice on designing courses Adjunct appointments of industry experts to teach and research in the university Part/full-time jobs for students 12 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Differences with Other Parks l l Most science park tenants are small growing companies including start-ups Most Park services typically emphasize technology transfer and the support of growth MURP has these ambitions, but its broad objectives also make large companies highly suitable tenants These companies may not conduct research in Australia, but they » Participate in university activities » Bring important international links 13 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Encouraging Collaboration l Fact: Despite the considerable potential benefits, World-wide experience shows that genuine collaboration between universities and industry within science parks has been difficult to achieve. Companies in science parks are commercially oriented and need to be persuaded that the University offers attractions 14 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

A Typical Comment l Studies have concluded that many science parks are mainly a form of prestigious real estate development, physically isolated from the surrounding society and thus quite unlikely to generate productive synergies of any kind (Phillimore et al, XV IASP World Conference Proceedings) 15 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

How MURP Overcame this Challenge l MURP's strategy for achieving this collaboration is to make staff and tenant companies feel part of the University community. Their plan includes: 16 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Summary of MURP’s Plan l l l l Location (with campus and close) Involving Academic Staff in Planning Having a single representative of the university within the Park The University Research Co. is a tenant Appointment of Park Manager The university maintains/manages the park (not buildings, tenants pay for services) This ensures that it has a stake in the ongoing development 17 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Summary of MURP’s Plan l l Offering tenants privileged access to university facilities (like employees) Holding regular seminars and briefings, where university and tenant staff can mingle and make informal contacts Offering special scholarships for students to conduct their research projects through Park companies Inviting senior staff of tenant companies to join university advisory boards 18 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Results to Date l l Four Buildings completed (35000 Square meters) Investment by the private sector of over $100 million. (1 tenants, wide range of companies such as: » Large Companies: Siemens, EMC 2, Goodman Fielder, Becton Dickinson (now BD) etc » Smaller companies: Covance and Eppendorf » Radiata Ltd, a start-up from MU involved in the design of a wireless modem chip » Recently Radiata has been acquired by Cisco 19 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Current Status and Direction l l MURP as of now has exceeded the University’s expectations Infrastructure is in place Excellent tenants secured MURP therefore has slowed the rate of development and are concentrating on filling gaps and targeting particular companies 20 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Collaborative Activities Companies contracting departments l University collaborating with tenants on large funded projects and work for Gas/RAs l IT specialist company is working with MUs computing department to produce a specialized undergraduate program (all software is supplied by that company) l Several senior staff of tenant companies are on University advisory boards l 21 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Collaborative Activities l l l Tenants have lent the University valuable scientific equipment Several tenants have offered scholarships The University research company provides IT services to 2 tenant companies Exploring with Int. tenants the possibility of overseas students spending time with that Co. in the Park and, later, returning to their countries to work for them Many staff in tenant companies are finding it convenient to enroll at MU 22 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Some Related Information l l Tenants make regular financial contributions for services (this funds the position of Park Manager, who has a special role in fostering collaboration Income from ground rental is satisfactory and is funding developments/research The reputation of the Park has brought non-tenant companies to the University seeking to collaborate with them It has also enhanced the University’s reputation for industry relevance 23 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Challenges Ahead There are no incubation facilities l There is a shortage of space for smaller, developing companies l Land is costly and the buildings generally have large floor space to maximize financial returns l If North Ryde it to become Australia’s Silicon Valley, it must be a source of innovation and growth of new enterprises l 24 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Current Setting for Incubators l l Incubation/innovation centers, are found in most successful science parks The setting is right » Developing companies would benefit from the mentoring, investment and marketing support established larger companies could provide » Would also benefit from the University’s ability to provide academic/technical support, management training and services, and labs » Private investors are interested, but some government funding must be found to lower the risk and to pay for the intensive management support services start-up companies need 25 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Conclusion The Macquarie University Research Park has made very good progress in the two years in which tenants have been on campus l It is a model of a privately funded science park l The University has finally changed its early image of being purely a liberal arts college to one of being at the forefront in science and technology l 26 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission

Conclusion l l l The policy of encouraging multiple associations with tenants, not just the commercialization of research, has delivered early benefits to MU MU has also learned valuable lessons in how to commercialize its research and to achieve successful collaboration with industry, both in the Park & the region These are essential lessons at a time when the Federal Government has pointed all universities in the direction of establishing greater links with industry 27 Copyright: All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced by any means without prior permission