Why University-Industry Partnerships Matter

The American higher education system has always been one yearned by the world and has brought about the discoveries that contributed to innovations leading to products that enhanced the societal needs. Universities are capable of producing the base knowledge (discovery) used in the design of new products (innovation). However, they are dependent on organization to take these inventions and turn them into actual commodities. This course of action has worked well over time, however, there are opportunities to widen the level, number and depth of university-industry collaborations and enhance the development of new products. Some trends are should also be taken into account. Large pharmaceutical organisations are reviewing their investments in internal research and development (R&D) and looking to opt for promising inventions by collaborating with universities (2) and small business innovation research (SBIR) and small business technology transfer programmes. (3) Governments (federal and state) are widely acknowledging the value of university-industry partnerships and are beginning to make investments that fund these efforts. One example is the Clinical Translation Scientist Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that serves as the federal government’s investment to promote and put in motion the discovery-to-innovation process.