Hopper calls for more IP to SMEs

Professor Andy Hopper CBE (pictured), the president of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), has called for UK universities to release more intellectual property (IP) to small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) in a bid to drive growth.

Hopper, who is also the head of Cambridge University’s computer lab, made the comments as he prepared to step down from his one year role as president of the IET, the largest engineering body in Europe.

He said: “Taxpayers are already funding the creation of innovative intellectual property in our universities, so it seems reasonable that more of this is made available to UK SMEs that are best positioned to add value and commercialise it. Universities should be encouraged and incentivised more to kick start the development of new technologies and products by openly assigning the required IP to dynamic British businesses at minimal extra cost.

He added: “In return, maybe the university could get a one or two per cent shareholding – more of a goodwill gesture than a conventional transaction. This is all perfectly possible and is happening in a number of UK universities already.”