Fixating on university spin-outs overlooks the much more crucial role higher education institutions play in innovation by producing ¡°world-class talent¡±, a British Academy policy group has warned.

Urging a more ¡°multifaceted and systematic¡± way of thinking about universities¡¯ role in growth and innovation ¨C a key priority of the UK government?¨C a new policy paper says current discussions do not sufficiently value how UK higher education equips private research and development and the wider economy with a highly skilled workforce.

¡°Too much discussion of innovation policy which assumes a closed economy where the only source of growth is national research and innovation can miss the importance of world-class talent in the international flows of technology and research, suppliers and other firms,¡± explains the paper from the academy¡¯s technology and innovation working group.

Concluding that an ¡°important output for university research should be celebrated as talented people¡±, the panel recommends that ¡°investment in universities [is seen as] not only an investment in R&D but more broadly an investment in absorptive capacity¡± ¨C that is, the later-stage ability of private companies to utilise new technologies, thanks to the skills of their graduate staff.

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Embracing a more holistic view about how a country acquires a ¡°well-trained, world-class research base ready to do the [technology] translation required¡± would highlight the vital role played by universities, explains the paper published on 3 June.

In that spirit, ministers should not fixate on poaching supposedly world-class scientific ¡°talent¡± keen to escape Donald Trump¡¯s America ¨C a move currently being considered ¨C but should seek to protect the UK¡¯s under-pressure talent development structures, report author Paul Nightingale, professor of strategy at the University of Sussex¡¯s Science Policy Research Unit, told?51³Ô¹Ï.

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¡°Our resources are pretty strained right now so spending money on hugely expensive Americans to come over here when many institutions are in financial meltdown would not be a wise way to spend money,¡± said Nightingale, who explained how many countries deemed leaders in innovation are seeking to recreate what the UK already has.

¡°If you look at Singapore, which has been very proactive in recruiting talent, it is doing so mainly to build research capacity so it then has the graduate talent that can go and work in companies,¡± he explained, noting how the nation¡¯s ¡°highly pragmatic, whole system¡± approach to innovation encompassed immigration policy, legal services and education.

¡°In many ways, there is too much focus [in the UK] on spin-out technology when the main value of universities is the talent they produce,¡± he added.

Given universities¡¯ central role in talent creation, plus their status as often the biggest employer in a city or town, it was critical that the UK government does more to support their financial viability, said Nightingale, who authored the report alongside the British Academy¡¯s Molly Morgan-Jones, Eleanor Hopkins and Sarah Cowan.

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¡°If any other industry ¨C let alone an R&D-intensive one ¨C was struggling like UK higher education, people would be jumping up and down demanding action but that isn¡¯t happening now for all sorts of political reasons,¡± said Nightingale, who noted that the UK¡¯s largest university, UCL, employed nearly twice as many staff (18,000) as Britain¡¯s entire fishing industry (about 10,000).

The report, published as part of the British Academy¡¯s policy programme on economic strategy, also highlights five other areas besides talent on which innovation policy should evolve, as well as highlighting a range of policy options.

Among them is a call for the UK to ¡°look beyond frontier technology¡±, noting how many economies, such as Austria, have profited from focusing on competing in slightly lower-tech industries rather than the most cutting edge.

¡°As one of our panel put it, ¡®the UK is a large Canada, not the US¡¯. There are a number of sectors where we¡¯re not at the frontier of technology ¨C in these areas, business needs some hand-holding to exploit existing technologies better rather than being asked to create new technologies,¡± said Nightingale.

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jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com