UK SMEs should be given access to University IP to boost economy says head of Cambridge Computer Lab

Leading Cambridge academic and serial entrepreneur, Professor Andy Hopper CBE FIET FREng FRS, made a call for more cooperation between universities, the Government and UK SMEs in his Cambridge Wireless Prestigious Lecture last night. With Universities facing a decline in research funding and grants, Professor Hopper re-stated his belief that UK SMEs should be given greater access to University-created and tax-payer funded intellectual property (IP) to accelerate the development and commercialisation of new technologies. 

Andy Hopper, Professor of Computer Technology and Head of Department at the Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge, addressed an audience of business leaders, entrepreneurs, engineers and academics at the Møller Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge yesterday evening in an event presented by Cambridge Wireless, the leading industry forum involved in the development and application of wireless technologies.

His talk on, "Academia, Research, Patents and the Cambridge Cluster” highlighted his strong-held views on the importance of a more united relationship between businesses and universities to help drive future growth in the UK economy and pointed to the rapid success of the Raspberry Pi to illustrate what can be achieved. He believes that the steep decline in access to readily available funding for university research will have serious detrimental effects if alternatives are not sought.

“Universities should be incentivised to kick start the development of new technologies and products by assigning IP to innovative UK businesses at minimal extra cost,” said Andy Hopper. “The payback is that universities could get a one or two per cent shareholding on the basis that some of these companies will become the next generation of ARMs and CSRs. There is growing support for these ideas and it is already happening in a number of UK universities.”

Professor Hopper has co-founded a dozen spin-outs and start-ups, including Virata, a global chip company and more recently RealVNC and Ubisense. Hopper also collaborated with Hermann Hauser for his earlier venture at Acorn Computers. His talk last night also argued that the Government is not doing enough to harness the UK’s rich seam of engineering skills and innovation and needs to do more to encourage young people to follow careers in science and technology.

Professor William Webb, CEO of the Weightless SIG and Cambridge Wireless Board member said, “It was a pleasure and inspiration to hear Professor Hopper present his views on a topic that is imperative to the wireless industry characterised by the growing number of companies that make up the Cambridge cluster. There is so much potential in university IP that it is only logical that the companies best placed to exploit and develop it should be granted easy access.”

The Prestigious Lectures Series has been specially designed and created for Cambridge Wireless Founder Members and is chaired by Professor William Webb. The Andy Hopper lecture was sponsored by Rohde & Schwarz.

For more information please visit www.cambridgewireless.co.uk or follow on Twitter – #CWLectures