.
Inch by inch, the proverbial ivory towers at research institutions around the world are being remodeled to make way for a new era of university-business partnerships.
Given that world population is expected to top 9 billion by the year 2050, the change comes none too soon in the food and agriculture arena, where broad, integrated systems must be created to feed that burgeoning global family.
In the 20th century the federally established “land-grant” universities brought science into agriculture in the United States, and in the 1940s through the 1960s, researchers around the world joined forces in the “Green Revolution” and saved millions from hunger by introducing new crop varieties and techniques.
Since the 1990s, many advances in agriculture production have been based on academic research that was translated to products in the private sector. Most products were developed to increase production of commodity crops, including corn, cotton, soy and canola, and served large- and smallholder farmers alike.
With greater focus now on food and nutrition and sustainable practices, including reducing the use of agrichemicals and producing high-value, nutrition-rich crops, other changes are needed.
Now it is time to reach across academic disciplines and bridge the gaps between university scientists, farmers and businesses to work collaboratively to feed the world.
Learning to build partnerships
Universities and businesses have tremendous opportunities to achieve long-term successes for food and nutrition security around the world. But both partners must first learn a bit about each other’s culture and focus on building action-oriented collaborations.
For example, universities and research organizations need to create more portals through which industry can engage the finest research minds and find common ground for melding academia’s intellectual capacity and research infrastructure with the financial resources of industry.
At the University of California, Davis, one of the most successful industry-engagement portals is Seed Central, a vibrant networking initiative established in 2010 to better connect the university’s plant scientists, related campus researchers and students with California’s thriving seed industry. Seed Central’s ultimate goal is to help solve real-world food and agriculture problems by speeding up the transfer of scientific discoveries to practical applications in industry. But its founders wisely recognized that just as a successful harvest begins with preparing the soil, so sound relationships are key to growing research collaborations.
Seed Central now includes, 31 industry members, four educational partners outside of UC Davis and 12 regional government-related partners. More than 600 individuals from industry have attended Seed Central’s monthly events, along with more than 500 UC Davis faculty, students and staff. And plans have been initiated to construct on campus a “collaborative research laboratory” that would provide research space for seed industry partners as well as UC Davis scientists and students.
As such collaborative relationships grow, universities need to develop their entrepreneurial strengths. That includes structuring research agreements to accommodate the eventual transfer of ideas and technology from the beginning – not as an afterthought.
Academia also should keep in mind that the agriculture and food industry operates on relatively narrow profit margins and potential partners will be looking to the university to provide streamlined systems and tech-transfer-savvy personnel to ensure the efficient flow of discoveries from lab to marketplace.
The Innovation Institute for Food and Health, a new initiative administered through the World Food Center at UC Davis and launched in partnership with Mars Inc. is working to promote just such an environment that encourages innovation and entrepreneurship among faculty, while addressing grand challenges in agriculture and food. The Innovation Institute plans to provide funding for projects judged most likely to bring societal benefits, and anticipates that other companies will join in the initiative.
Expect a learning curve
On the industry side, private firms need to develop a better understanding of academia’s realities, including how university research is funded. For example, in the U.S. it’s important for firms that partner with universities on research agreements support the “indirect costs” of research as well as direct costs, providing funds to literally keep the lab’s lights on and the water running. They’ll also be expected to pay for library services and salaries for graduate students and post-doctoral staff, who are the workhorses of academic research.
Both sides of such collaborations should anticipate a learning curve and a few bumps along the way. Yet, the potential rewards for industry, academia and society will far outweigh the difficulties. Especially in food and agriculture, university-business partnerships hold vast opportunities that the world cannot afford to let lie fallow.
Roger Beachy is an acclaimed plant biologist and executive director of the World Food Center at UC Davis, established in 2013 to increase the economic benefit from campus research; influence policy; and convene teams of scientists to tackle food-related challenges in California and around the world.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
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University-business collaborations key to global food security
Global Business or International Corporate as Art
May 14, 2015
Inch by inch, the proverbial ivory towers at research institutions around the world are being remodeled to make way for a new era of university-business partnerships.
Given that world population is expected to top 9 billion by the year 2050, the change comes none too soon in the food and agriculture arena, where broad, integrated systems must be created to feed that burgeoning global family.
In the 20th century the federally established “land-grant” universities brought science into agriculture in the United States, and in the 1940s through the 1960s, researchers around the world joined forces in the “Green Revolution” and saved millions from hunger by introducing new crop varieties and techniques.
Since the 1990s, many advances in agriculture production have been based on academic research that was translated to products in the private sector. Most products were developed to increase production of commodity crops, including corn, cotton, soy and canola, and served large- and smallholder farmers alike.
With greater focus now on food and nutrition and sustainable practices, including reducing the use of agrichemicals and producing high-value, nutrition-rich crops, other changes are needed.
Now it is time to reach across academic disciplines and bridge the gaps between university scientists, farmers and businesses to work collaboratively to feed the world.
Learning to build partnerships
Universities and businesses have tremendous opportunities to achieve long-term successes for food and nutrition security around the world. But both partners must first learn a bit about each other’s culture and focus on building action-oriented collaborations.
For example, universities and research organizations need to create more portals through which industry can engage the finest research minds and find common ground for melding academia’s intellectual capacity and research infrastructure with the financial resources of industry.
At the University of California, Davis, one of the most successful industry-engagement portals is Seed Central, a vibrant networking initiative established in 2010 to better connect the university’s plant scientists, related campus researchers and students with California’s thriving seed industry. Seed Central’s ultimate goal is to help solve real-world food and agriculture problems by speeding up the transfer of scientific discoveries to practical applications in industry. But its founders wisely recognized that just as a successful harvest begins with preparing the soil, so sound relationships are key to growing research collaborations.
Seed Central now includes, 31 industry members, four educational partners outside of UC Davis and 12 regional government-related partners. More than 600 individuals from industry have attended Seed Central’s monthly events, along with more than 500 UC Davis faculty, students and staff. And plans have been initiated to construct on campus a “collaborative research laboratory” that would provide research space for seed industry partners as well as UC Davis scientists and students.
As such collaborative relationships grow, universities need to develop their entrepreneurial strengths. That includes structuring research agreements to accommodate the eventual transfer of ideas and technology from the beginning – not as an afterthought.
Academia also should keep in mind that the agriculture and food industry operates on relatively narrow profit margins and potential partners will be looking to the university to provide streamlined systems and tech-transfer-savvy personnel to ensure the efficient flow of discoveries from lab to marketplace.
The Innovation Institute for Food and Health, a new initiative administered through the World Food Center at UC Davis and launched in partnership with Mars Inc. is working to promote just such an environment that encourages innovation and entrepreneurship among faculty, while addressing grand challenges in agriculture and food. The Innovation Institute plans to provide funding for projects judged most likely to bring societal benefits, and anticipates that other companies will join in the initiative.
Expect a learning curve
On the industry side, private firms need to develop a better understanding of academia’s realities, including how university research is funded. For example, in the U.S. it’s important for firms that partner with universities on research agreements support the “indirect costs” of research as well as direct costs, providing funds to literally keep the lab’s lights on and the water running. They’ll also be expected to pay for library services and salaries for graduate students and post-doctoral staff, who are the workhorses of academic research.
Both sides of such collaborations should anticipate a learning curve and a few bumps along the way. Yet, the potential rewards for industry, academia and society will far outweigh the difficulties. Especially in food and agriculture, university-business partnerships hold vast opportunities that the world cannot afford to let lie fallow.
Roger Beachy is an acclaimed plant biologist and executive director of the World Food Center at UC Davis, established in 2013 to increase the economic benefit from campus research; influence policy; and convene teams of scientists to tackle food-related challenges in California and around the world.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
