RISE May-June 2009 - University of Salford

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RISE! Research Innovation and Internationalisation News INNOVATION & ENTERPRISE / ENTREPRENEURSHIP Mr. Carl Abbott, Manager, SCRI & Professor Christos Kalantaridis, Management and Management Sciences Research Institute Innovation and enterprise/entrepreneurship are at the centre of the policy agenda regionally, nationally but also across the EU. This interest (and investment) on behalf of policy-makers reflects changes in the ‘real’ world. Enterprising behaviour and innovation in organizations are increasingly viewed as cornerstones of long-term competitiveness and sustainable development. This is not confined to private sector businesses, but increasingly extends to public and third sector organizations. Changes in climatic conditions and increased demand for natural resources exert pressure for the identification of innovative ways of using resources more intensively, within the context of a global economic downturn. These trends underpin a significant growth in the demand for knowledge creation (research), application (academic enterprise), and imparting (education) in innovation and enterprise/entrepreneurship from policy-makers, organizations (private, public and third sector), as well as individuals. The existence of opportunities in these two fields of research and practice led to the emergence of a number of established research centres: this is particularly the case in the area of innovation, with the most established research centre (SPRU – University of Sussex) going back forty years ago or so. However, in the UK and elsewhere in the world, there is limited connection between work in innovation and that in enterprise/entrepreneurship. Moreover, in many instances centres focus heavily on either knowledge creation or its application. This offers a niche for the advancement of innovation and enterprise/ent repreneurship at the University of Salford. The University is well placed to exploit this opportunity. This is because it possesses internal assets and a track record in innovation and enterprise/entrepreneurship that are internationally leading but diverse in character. Interestingly, this cuts across knowledge creation, application and imparting. These assets include: more than ninety individuals publishing in these two fields, projects totalling in excess of £9 million, as well as a wealth of educational opportunities at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. These activities concentrate heavily, though not exclusively in distinct industrial settings, namely: construction, healthcare, media and the third sector. Nonetheless, at present, centres, activities and individuals exist in isolation from each other and do not maximize their impact collectively on external audiences. Existing expertise in these areas, where there is evidence of long-term demand and impact, augers well for the development of a distinctive offering at the University of Salford. This could take the form of a ‘centre of excellence’ in innovation and enterprise/entrepreneurship that would be internationally recognizable for: > The establishment of a seamless (two-directional) continuum between new ideas and cutting-edge practice & education > The adoption of a specific ‘use value’ (rather than technological) approach to enterprise/entrepreneurship and innovation > The use of a strong sectoral focus – placing particular emphasis on rapidly growing and/or strategic sectors for the UK and the Manchester city-region > The ability to cut across the areas of enterprise/entrepreneurship and innovation in contrast to most other centres that focus on either one or the other. The proposed ‘centre of excellence’ will be: > Internationally visible, showcasing the University’s expertise in the fields of innovation and enterprise/entrepreneurship > Strategic, in that it would incubate large-scale initiatives that cut across knowledge creation, dissemination and imparting > Embedded in the regional context, with a multitude of linkages with enterprises and organizations. 28
RISE! Research Innovation and Internationalisation News THE ENERGY THEME Professor Keith Ross, Centre Director, Institute for Materials Research, and Professor Steve Curwell, Sustainable Urban Development, Institute of Built Environment. The significance of energy to the future of mankind cannot be exaggerated. The population of the Earth has reached a level that it could nowhere near be fed without the extensive use of energy in agriculture and we have become used to the lavish use of energy in the support of our lifestyle. However, whether we consider the anthropomorphic rise of CO 2 levels in the atmosphere, giving rise to Global Warming, or alternatively consider the imminence of “Peak Oil” and the consequences to humanity of an inexorable rise in fossil fuel costs and the associated transfer of financial wealth to the Middle East and Russia, it is clear that we have to face very significant changes in the way we use energy. These necessary changes create a major challenge to the research community, internationally and nationally. Training will also be essential to produce the number of specialists in the new areas. Governments are meeting this challenge by allocating considerable resources to research in the area. It is therefore natural that energy should become one of the themes of the University. The University of Salford already plays a considerable role in energy research, in the development of new technologies, the observation of global changes resulting from climate change, the development of energy savings technologies in the Built Environment and the observation of social attitudes to these necessary changes. In the development of new technologies, we are active in wind power and related meteorological and acoustic phenomenon, in hydrogen energy and associated developments in hydrogen/fuel cell and battery cars and in materials problems related to nuclear energy. All this work on advanced materials is supported by a considerable effort in ab initio modelling. We also have various important existing facilities such as the radio chemistry laboratories in Cockcroft. Global changes related to climate change are inferred from satellite data. Research in the Built Environment relates to the adoption of improved thermal insulation, smart devices for energy saving and architectural design features that minimise the need for additional space heating and cooling. Retrofitting of insulation to the existing housing stock is also important. We also have major research efforts into the analysis of social attitudes, for instance into the popular response to the introduction of hydrogen energy on a broad scale. Our current research portfolio (grants awarded since 2000) amounts to £7 million, which is spread over the research areas referred to above. When it comes to considering how the University might develop its research within the energy theme, the proposed philosophy is to invest in new research activities in areas adjacent to our existing research strengths, thus avoiding overlap but gaining from existing reputations and facilities. The specific suggestions are: (1) investment in nuclear energy, both fission and fusion, and both at the teaching and research levels. This would build on existing research strengths and develop related teaching programmes to meet the urgent need for new nuclear engineers; (2) a senior appointment in the area of new low carbon energy technologies (batteries, hydrogen, wind power etc.); (3) further development in the area of energy technology in the built environment; (4) a senior appointment in the socio-economic aspects of new energy technologies. ... we have to face very significant changes in the way we use energy ... In each of the above areas, a business plan would be developed, implying an investment of the order of several millions, to encompass the parallel development of research and teaching, with the objective of covering its additional costs in a period of around five years. 29
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RISE May-June 2009 - University of Salford

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