Hall, Lynne

Sunderland University Institutional Repository

Academic	engagement	with	SMEs:	Challenges	for	Fusion	Lynne	Hall,	University	of	Sunderland,	Sunderland,	UK	lynne.hall@sunderland.ac.uk		There	is	a	recognised	need	to	nurture	and	develop	a	fusion	of	disciplines	and	sectors	to	stimulate	and	sustain	innovation	in	the	Creative	Industries.	Whilst	fusion	across	disciplines	has	been	well	nurtured,	achieving	this	cross-sector,	between	the	SME	and	University	sectors	needs	attention.	University	senior	management	are	positive	about	SME	collaboration	with	significant	investment	in	primarily	non-academic	staff	to	support	it.	Meanwhile,	most	academics	place	low	priority	on	SME	engagement.	Instead,	their	focus	is	research,	teaching	and	administration.	Although	UKRI	may	assume	that	projects	will	lead	to	collaborations	between	academics	and	SMEs,	this	is	not	necessarily	the	case.	Instead,	cross-sectoral	projects	primarily	involve	dedicated	research	staff	supported	by	University	outward	facing	services,	and	at	a	slightly	distant	level,	research	academics	aiming	to	understand	and	interpret	the	project’s	impact	or	its	contribution	to	their	research.		To	develop	fusion	between	University	and	Industry	requires	more	than	Universities	becoming	UKRI’s	channel	for	providing	innovation	funds	to	SMEs.	It	requires	active	academic	engagement,	rather	than	the	current	University	approach	of	defraying	SME	collaboration	to	dedicated	project	or	business	staff.	In	Fuse,	tempters	and	sweeteners	such	as	internships,	access	to	funding,	courses	and	networking	have	unsurprisingly	attracted	many	SMEs,	with	an	ongoing	goal	to	reach	out.	However,	whilst	demand	has	been	established,	academic	supply	is	more	challenging	with	little	motivation	except	that	one	should	do	it.		Until	SME	engagement	has	demonstrable	value	for	academics	within	their	quotidian	activity,	fusion	and	the	potential	for	cross-sector	fusion	is	challenged.	In	creating	an	environment	to	promote	fusion,	we	must	not	only	consider	SMEs	and	research	intensive	innovation,	but	also	the	motivation	for	academics	and	students.	Thus,	in	addition	to	SME	targets	and	research	‘dissemination,	communication,	exploitation’	outputs,	we	also	need	to	determine	the	impact	on	our	students,	teaching	and	curriculum,	providing	demonstrable	evidence	of	the	benefits	of	fusion.		

Academic engagement with SMEs: Challenges for Fusion

http://sure.sunderland.ac.uk/9688/1/Hall%20-%20Creative%20Fuse%20Conference%20Abstract.pdf

Academic engagement with SMEs: Challenges for Fusion

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