There were not one but two very interesting reports in the past 48 hours coming out of Scotland. The first was a particularly harsh critique of Scottish efforts to commercialize IP from its Universities. Robert Hannah, a partner in account firm Grant Thornton’s technology industry group, laid blame for poor performance on a lack of management expertise, particularly in raising investment. He called for improvements in management education, but didn’t stop there. He went so far as to suggest that Scotland should spend “serious money” to “buy in” management experts from the US “who have done it before.” Hannah’s comments came in response to a report from Targeting Innovation which advocated for more concentrated funding in fewer university spin-outs to improve their chances for success.
The second piece of innovation news was an announcement by Perth-based venture investors Braveheart of a 15-year commercialization agreement with Aberdeen University. The deal gives Braveheart first refusal rights to IP in certain areas, and appears to offer at least £5m over 5 years, with a dedicated fund thereafter that will include other investors. Braveheart also has similar deals with the University of Strathclyde and the University of Edinburgh. The stated objective is the fill the proverbial “funding gap” and accelerate Scotland’s success in IP commercialization. This kind of long-term partnership between investors and universities seems to be getting more popular.
