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The article reports on the recommendation of the Conservative Task Force on Science, Engineering and Mathematics to establish an Innovative Projects Agency to turn research concepts into products and services in Great Britain. The agency would correct the British weakness at innovation. Responsibilities of the proposed agency cover the work of the existing Technology Strategy Board and knowledge-transfer programmes of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Focuses the role of Susan Searle in helping Imperial College to be one of Great Britain's leading research institutions. Development of Imperial Innovations, the technology-transfer operations of the college; Profile of Searle; Growth in Imperial's technology transfer activity; Comparison of Imperial's technology transfer activity with Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

Identifies the remedies to the problems of British science through a chain-link model of innovation. Allocation of one billion pounds to solve the problem of underfunding; Knowledge transfer; Role of industrial clusters in regional development; Consumer acceptance of new technology. INSET: What the experts say about the white paper..

Discusses the commercialization of academic research in Great Britain. Ethical concerns in research ownership and technology transfer; Scope of businesses' influence in university research; Commercial and economic impact of research; Correlation between business incubators and the scientific community. INSETS: Do not incubate to accumulate, by David Auckland.;Consult carefully before spinning off, by John Ashworth..

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles in previous issues including "Experts; Access Policy Futile," by Stephen Gorard in the September 15, 2006 issue, "Transfers Prove Costly" in the September 15, 2006 issue, and "Suicide Don Under Huge Stress in Job" in the September 15, 2006 issue.

The article reports that many British universities' technology-transfer offices have taken bigger portion of their general fund. Aston University consumed £1.2 million of its overall budget on its technology-transfer office in 2005-2006. Leeds University spent £324,000 into its technology-transfer office in the same period, compared with £283,500 in 2004-2005.

The article reports on the revenue generated from university spin-offs in Great Britain from 2003 to 2005. The government has invested in technology transfer just half of the revenue. Some spin-off companies listed on stock markets are cited, including Wolfson Microelectronics and Renovo. Moreover, the article applauds the achievement of the government.

Reports on the budget to be allocated by the Scottish Funding Council for teaching and research in higher education institutions for 2006 to 2007. Prioritization of supporting research competitiveness; Increase in knowledge transfer grants aimed at improving research that will benefit the economy; Growth in the amount of grants for social inclusion.

Focuses on the significant federal and state investment at the birthplace of the Mexican revolution in Morelos State, Mexico. Attraction of investment from the country's largest academic institution; Emergence of the state as the highest number of researchers per head of population; Efforts of academic Consuelo Valverde Prado to open a Center for Science and Technology Transfer.

Focuses on the efforts of Mexico's National Council for Science and Technology to emulate the British approach to enterprise. Significance of Mexico as the new 'India' wherein a highly motivated population is keen to improve its skills; Cost of the spin-off companies; Evaluation of the value of quality research.

Reports on a study conducted by Swansea University researchers indicating that Welsh universities are losing out in the technology transfer market because they are not working with each other and with industry to patent inventions jointly. Evidence of an anti-collaborative culture in Wales; Inventive capacity in Wales.

Discusses the role universities in driving forward the process of technological innovation in Great Britain. Providing fundamental research; Technology transfer; Applications of all the institution's abilities and resources; Training of creative engineers.

Comments on the technology-transfer activities of universities in Great Britain. Entrepreneurship of the average university academic; Barrier of the teaching and research position to getting involved in commercial enterprise; Factors influencing the success of spin-off companies.

Reports on the government spending on knowledge transfer activities in Great Britain. Increase in private investment with the investors' interest in university spin-off companies; Initiatives promoting the commercial exploitation of research; Value of technology and science-based companies listed on the Alternative Investment Market.

Reports on the technology-transfer business of Sheffield University in England. Financial resources for entrepreneurial academics; Management of the life sciences intellectual property; Increase in the value of the company.

Reports on the barriers to the creation of university spin-off companies in Great Britain. Internal politics within the academic department; Problems associated with the recruiting of an experienced team and in securing funding; Lack of commercial application of the technology-transfer process.

Reports on the decline in the number of spin-off firms created by universities in Great Britain. Impact of a tax law on university entrepreneurs; Views of the Conservative Shadow Higher Education Minister, Christopher Grayling, on the issue; Boast of Chancellor Gordon Brown about the science strategy of the Government.

Reports on the carefulness of venture capitalists in investing in university spin-off firms in Great Britain. Preference of capitalists in high technology firms over spin-offs; Views of professor Mike Wright on the expectations of universities and capitalists.

Reports on the delay in the creation of a spin-off firm by the lecturer Nick Coleman in Great Britain. Impact of the tax law on the project; Negotiation of Coleman with the Inland Revenue.

Reports on the U2B model of technology transfer in Great Britain. Barrier for academic-business links; Role of intermediary technology-transfer companies in increasing college finance; Establishment of intellectual property in-house.

Focuses on the development of science and technology in Australia. Multinational firms' establishment of research and development facilities in Australia; Support of the academia and the government for development facilities; Job opportunities for technology transfer at national and government level.

Reports on the results of an annual survey of higher education business links, carried out by the Higher Education Funding Council for England. Cultural change in the higher education sector; Income from inventions and business collaborations; Academic spin-offs; Knowledge-transfer activities; Government's allocation of funds to universities.

Reports that Scottish and Welsh universities are excluded from a flagship U.S.-British technology transfer initiative because an existing English scheme is being used to finance it. Claim of Cheryl Teague, director of research and commercialization at Paisley University, that Scottish universities would be disadvantaged if they had no access to such funding.

Discusses the outcome of the UK University Commercialization Survey for 2002 indicating that British research institutes have outperformed their U.S. counterparts by creating more technology transfer spin-offs and executing more licenses. Number of licenses generated per $1 billion spent on research; Background on the survey that aims to compile data that can be used for international comparison of how British technology transfer officer are performing; Income generated from technology-transfer activities.

Discusses a study indicating that the preference of British university heads and government officials with technology transfer as a significant income stream was misguided. Significant findings of the study conducted by Lite Nelsen, director of the technology-licensing office at the Massachusetts Institute of Techology; Factors affecting technology-transfer income; Suggested ways of obtaining concrete income for universities.

Focuses on the link between business and higher education in Great Britain. Technology transfer.

Reports on the formation of an investment syndicate to formulate ways to fund the University of Edinburgh's spin-off companies in Edinburgh, Scotland. Aspect of the SMART Support Scheme; Mapping of the best routes to the market; Accounts on the key feature of the growth start-up market.

Reports on the launching of the first regional science strategy by the Council for Industry and Higher Education in England. Improvement of the technology transfer across the business community; Installation of the fastest supercomputer; Description of the sensitive high-resolution imaging radio-telescope.

Reports developments related to higher education in Great Britain as of April 2003. Simplification of the range of government innovation and technology-transfer schemes; Reduction of the tuition fees for students.

Reports that technology transfer activity in universities has risen in Great Britain. Spin-offs created by universities; Categories of institutions by the proportion of income channelled into research; Contracts between universities and business.

Reports that the University of Nottingham has launched its technology transfer unit in England. Rise of commercial demands from the university; Intellectual property management support.

Reports on shift of technology-transfer activities of Leeds University into private sector. Partnership with venture capital company Axiomlab; Plans to set up Techtran for benefit of stakeholders of the university.

Reports on the inauguration of the first technology-transfer training program for university staff in Great Britain. Lack of resources for training technology-transfer professionals; Value of the training program to the improvement of industrial performance.

Discusses findings of a study on the future of biomedical technology in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Effect of the state constitution on technology transfer; Efforts for a state referendum on changing the constitution. INSET: A match that is made in profit heaven..

Reports on the growing technology transfer from laboratories to the industry in Spain. Information on the fractal technology of the company, Fractus; Aim of the Booksaver technology of Conservacion de Sustratos Celulosicos; Complaints of businessmen on the bureaucracy in universities.

Focuses on a report by a science strategy review group in Scotland regarding the contracts of science researchers. Suggestions of the report presented to Henry McLeish, Scotland's minister for enterprise and lifelong learning; Importance of long-term contracts of scientists according to the report; Top constraint on technology transfer in Scotland.

Reports on the assertion of Brian O'Neil, from the electrical and electronic engineering department at Nottingham Trent University, that success in technology transfer is an important measure for the quality of research. Advice for researchers in competition with larger industrial research groups; Microchip from O'Neil's spin-off company.

Reports on the world competitiveness ranking of South Africa across a comprehensive range of criteria. Education system; Research and development expenditure; Technology transfer.

Reports on the British government's technology transfer agenda. Discussion on the need to commercialize science generated by public sector research establishments (PSRE); Initiatives to commercialize university research; Effect of failure to turn public investment in PSRE into viable commercial propositions.

Discloses the plans of Great Britain's Higher Education Reach-Out to Business and Community Fund to allocate a total of 22 million pounds a year to higher institutions with good business links. Efforts to promote the transfer of knowledge to industry and commerce; Source of funding for the project.

Reports on the approval by academics on the plans to commercialize university research. Remarks of Rodney Eastwood, director of planning at Imperial College, London, England on the initiative; Partnerships between the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Department of Trade and Industry.

Reports on a technology transfer assessment exercise called by University of Southampton vice-chancellor Howard Newby in 1998. Remarks of Professor Newby, former chief executive of the Economic and Social Research Council, on the exercise.

Reports on the expansion of the Teaching Company Scheme (TCS), technology transfer scheme of the government of Great Britain. Benefit from industry links; Budget for TCS; Level of technology exploitation.

Reports on the plan of Wellcome Trust to set up a technology transfer company to exploit intellectual property rights associated with its research work with universities. Planned changes in the conditions attached to its grants; Arguments against the plan.

Reports on the International Fund for Ireland's support for the Biomedical and Environmental Sensor Technology (BEST) Centre, a project linking Ulster's two universities and two in the Irish Republic.

Reports on a study which shows that small and medium firms in Oxfordshire, England benefit more than had previously been thought from technology transfer links to local universities and research laboratories. Two-year investigation of 54 small firms backed by the Leverhulme Trust; Reasons behind importance of technology transfer links for small and medium firms.

Reports on a discussion of priorities for the European Union's scientific activities by British and German officials. British Government's chief scientific adviser William Stewart as chairperson; Coverage of scientific programs; British plans of sharing experience of technology foresight, innovation programs and industry-university links with Germany.

Reports on audits showing ways for British universities to interact with industry. Well established technology transfer activities of top research universities; Benefits of a regional consortia.

Reports on a study by accounting firm Price Waterhouse on how the National Health Service in Great Britain might go about selling its ideas and products. Recommendations on identifying NHS researchers who might generate intellectual property and on how to manage and fund them; Earlier study by Impel, the technology transfer arm of Imperial College, London; Recommendations of the Impel study.

Discusses the problem in biomedical sciences' technological transfer programs in British universities. Funding needed by universities to patent researches for protection.