Forging a bond between academia and enterprise

Sir William Stewart , new President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, speaks for the first time about his aims and objectivesEver since Enterprise Minister Henry McLeish criticised Scottish Enterprise for not doing enough to commercially spin out a new generation of technologically-based ideas from Scottish universities which gave the world Dolly the sheep, questions continue to be asked about the strategy.

The minister may have launched a new advisory group to ensure the proper development of Scotland's science base, but here Sir William Stewart, the new president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and a former Chief Scientific Officer to both the Thatcher and Major governments, offers the Scottish Executive additional expertise on how to bridge the gap between lab-bound new technologies and the marketplace.

'THE university sector and industry have to be coupled properly to give the country leading edge technologies and here the Royal Society can act as an honest broker on behalf of the Scottish Executive, to ensure that developments actually happen. This is why I have been seeking to work with both Scottish Enterprise and Technology Ventures and why we plan to mount a new frontiers exhibition in Edinburgh in June, in partnership with the Royal Society of London.

In Scotland there is this issue that we should be developing technology clusters and here people have got to think very carefully about what they actually mean. While I am supportive of the concept, it means comparing Scotland with the west coast of America and the problem is that we just do not have the multiplicity of units to contribute to a cluster. Rather than having pockets of expertise, what we have got to do is to take Scotland as a whole and develop interaction between the various components on offer. The focus for Scotland should be to build up a cluster of bright, innovative people working naturally on the international scene.

On becoming President of the Royal Society I established an international division for the first time in its history. This is absolutely essential. Scotland must do more to promote itself abroad.

The great problem in getting new technologies and new companies off the ground, is that at the innovative stage every day counts. A researcher should not have to spend six months, a year, even 18 months trying to raise funds, because at the end of the day once a product is finally in the marketplace it is often up to 18 months behind international competition.

As for the future of the Royal Society there has been a perception in the past that it is something of an Edinburgh gentlemen's club. This perception is wrong. Change occurs against a changing political scene in Scotland and the desire for a knowledge-based economy and this society promises to make an innovative and lateral contribution to work with the Scottish Executive and the universities.

We have a broad remit and it is fair to say that we received a paucity of support from the Scottish Office before devolution. I look for a significant change in that position from the Scottish Executive. '

Sir William Stewart spoke to Kenny Kemp www.royalsoc.ac.uk/

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