OECD chief Mathias Cormann calls on unis and business to work together

Mathias Cormann says Australia must do more to make universities and start-ups form partnerships to commercialise research.

OECD secretary-general Mathias Cormann has called on Australia to do more to support commercialisation of university research.

OECD secretary-general, and former Coalition government finance minister, Mathias Cormann said Australia must do more to make universities and start-up businesses work together to commercialise research.

Speaking to the Universities Australia conference on Wednesday Mr Cormann said that the “low mobility of researchers between higher education and the business sector holds back the flow of ideas”.

He told the conference that Australia need to do more to build partnerships between universities and private businesses and to “successfully commercialise high quality public research”.

Mr Cormann said that Australia stood out for its relatively low proportion of innovating companies which collaborated with universities in spite of the close proximity to campuses of the vast majority of start-ups.

“OECD data show that 48 per cent of start-ups in Australia are clustered within one kilometre of a public research institution, and 85 per cent within five kilometres. There is surely scope to do better,” he said.

Mr Cormann said researchers should be moving more freely between universities and companies.

“The low mobility of researchers between higher education and the business sector holds back the flow of ideas,” he said.

“It also involves facilitating technology transfer from universities to new innovative firms.

“Universities and funding agencies also need to recognise innovation as a part of their mission, and encourage exchanges with businesses to support it.”

“This includes supporting university-based start-ups with financing, advice, network connections, and intellectual property strategies.”

Mr Cormann’s call for tighter collaboration between universities and industry is in line with the Morrison government’s effort in its final months in office to link universities with investors and innovative companies through its $362m Trailblazer program.

Labor’s new Education Minister Jason Clare told the universities conference dinner on Wednesday night that he believed more could be done to “turn Australian ideas and discoveries into Australian jobs” and he praised the Morrison government for its initiatives.

“The former government did some good things to encourage translation and boost commercialisation,” Mr Clare said.

Coalition education spokesman Alan Tudge will tell the university conference on Thursday that “the Trailblazer program demonstrated the capacity to overcome challenges that have previously stymied university research commercialisation”.

Mr Tudge will urge Mr Clare to “maintain and embed” the Coalition’s research commercialisation plan.

“The funding is already allocated, the detailed designs are in place, but it will require ongoing attention from the minister to ensure that the full benefit to our economy and society are realised,” Mr Tudge will say.