News from Nottingham University
14 September 2006 PA156/06
The University of Nottingham is part of a ground-breaking collaboration between researchers in the UK and China.
In an unprecedented move, a multi-million pound research partnership between the two countries has been co-funded by the UK and Chinese governments in a bid to bring the latest joint research to the marketplace.
A consortium called Innovation China UK (ICUK) — which includes five UK universities and at least 20 in China — has been awarded £5m from the Higher Education Innovation Fund, which is administered by the Department of Trade and Industry. The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, in partnership with the Chinese Ministry of Education, has now pledged to match that level of funding in a pioneering collaboration between the two nations.
It is the first time a research initiative on this scale has been jointly funded by the UK and China.
ICUK is a research and knowledge transfer partnership that will provide the framework for the development of commercial collaborations from the research phase to the marketplace. It will provide funding and support aimed at enabling UK and Chinese collaborators to develop, commercialise and exploit their joint research worldwide.
Formal announcement of the success was made on September 13 following a meeting of Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
Within the UK, the project is led by Queen Mary, University of London, with the other UK partners being The University of Nottingham, King’s College London, Royal Veterinary College and University of Southampton.
Chinese participating institutions will include Tsinghua University, Beijing University, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Nanjing University, Chengdu University, Suzhou University, China University of Science and Technology.
The University of Nottingham already has particularly close links with China: February 2006 saw the official opening of its new campus in the dynamic Chinese city of Ningbo, south of Shanghai.
The University was the first foreign university in the world to receive a license and to open a campus in China. The £30m Ningbo campus was officially opened in February 2006 in a ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, and Chinese State Councillor, Madam Chen Zhili.
Enrollments at The University of Nottingham in China are due to reach 2,000 students in September 2006, a figure that will increase in subsequent phases to 4,000.
Professor Douglas Tallack, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Internationalisation, said: “Innovation China UK is a most welcome development, and confirms the vital importance of research in The University of Nottingham’s international strategy.
“We look forward to collaborating with an exciting group of Chinese and UK institutions. The in-country location of The University of Nottingham, Ningbo, will be of additional value to the consortium.”
The initial award of £5m to ICUK was made in May this year under the competitive part of the third round of the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF), to help build closer ties between business and higher education institutions and turn ideas into enterprise.
The negotiation on the Chinese side has been led by Dr David Concar, the Consul for Science and Innovation at the British Embassy in Beijing.
China is providing funding through its Ministry of Science Technology in partnership with the Chinese Ministry of Education. The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology has confirmed its support for the proposed fund and its core principle of "equal partnership, equal investment and equal sharing of benefits".
The project will involve both countries contributing, subject to further discussions on points of detail, to pilot:
• An ICUK Collaboration Development Fund to enable UK and Chinese Higher Education Institutes to develop and commercialise joint research and near-market innovations for the economic benefit of both countries.
• A system for jointly assessing, awarding and governing the Collaboration Development Fund.
• A programme of complementary activities for knowledge networking, exchange and dissemination.
• A framework for jointly developing and exploiting intellectual property (IP) agreements and commercialising joint innovations.
The ICUK Collaboration Development Fund will be used for proof-of-concept research, business development, technology commercialisation and staff exchange. Both countries will contribute equally to the Fund to ensure equal collaboration and benefit sharing and to maximise the scale and impact of engagement.
The initiative will run for two years. Intellectual property will be shared between UK and Chinese HEIs based on their contribution to the joint project and according to IPR agreements reached before project funds are awarded. The programme will aim to deliver published guidance on joint UK-China intellectual property and knowledge transfer practice.
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham undertakes world-changing research and provides teaching of the highest quality. Ranked in the THES World Top 100 Universities, its academics have won two Nobel Prizes since 2003. An international institution, the University has campuses in the United Kingdom, Malaysia and China.
More information is available from Dr Susan Huxtable, Director of Intellectual Property Management and Commercialisation, on +44 (0)115 846 6388, susan.huxtable@nottingham.ac.uk ; Jonathan Ray, Director of Public Affairs, on +44 (0)115 951 5765, jonathan.ray@nottingham.ac.uk ; or Media Relations Manager Tim Utton in the University’s Public Affairs Office on +44 (0)115 846 8092, tim.utton@nottingham.ac.uk
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