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Basis / Collaboration / Policies / Partner Institutions / Technology Opportunities /  |
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Collaboration
Basic Principles
Searching for a research partner
Collaborative Research
Contract Research
Consulting
Collaboration in State-Subsidized Projects (National and International)Basic Principles Many forms of cooperation are thinkable and the specific wishes of the partners can be considered. In the following two sections direct co-operation and co-operation within a framework of national or international sponsoring programs will each be dealt with. The details for the cooperation, the rights and duties of the partners, and the exploitation of the results must be agreed on in a contract. The research plan describes the planned research project. The university is obliged to publish its research results. Publications may be delayed for a short period so interesting results can be protected by patent. The university, not the individual scientists, owns intellectual property developed during co-operation as long as the inventors are university employees. Joint inventions made by employees of both parties belong to both parties. In general, the industry partner receives the right to commercialize those project results which are in the scope of its activities. Licenses are granted by the university for this purpose.  Searching for a research partner Various online databases are helpful in searching an appropriate research partner. Please visit the site "forschungsportal", a joint research database of the Universities of Berne, Zurich, Basel and Fribourg. We are glad to assist you in contacting certain research groups. Collaborative Research Collaborative research is the most used type of co-operation between the private sector and an university. In a partnership, industry and academic partner work on a joint research project which is of mutual interest. The industry partners usually subsidizes the research at the university in the area of interest. At the same time the industry partner benefits from the competence and experience of the university partner acquired over many years of research in the respective field. For a collaboration to be on a partnership basis regular exchange of results between the university scientist and the industry partner is required. A mutually accepted research plan defines the contributions of both parties. The collaborative research agreement settles the rights and duties of each party, e.g. with regard to the protection of intellectual property and the commercialization of research results. Contract Research In contract research the partner (usually a firm) acts as the client and the university partner as the contractor. The university partner executes the instructions as defined by the client and with a clear objective. The commission must be self-contained and not be a continuation of already started research (e.g. measurements and their evaluation, clinical studies, expert's reports, etc.). Inventions are generally not expected. The specific goal and the exact extent of the services rendered by the university partner must be recorded in detail in the arrangement. In contrast to a collaborative research agreement the industry partner pays the full market price for the services (including salaries, overheads, etc.). Even in the case of contract research the right of the university to publish the results should in general be guaranteed. The intellectual property rights generally remain with the industry partner. Consulting In consulting agreements an university employee offers consulting services to a third party. These services are rendered on a private basis and without using university infrastructure. Such activities are regulated by the applicable employee and university statutes and require authorization by the university administration. Collaboration in State-Subsidized Projects (National and International) CTI: CTI (Commission for Technology and Innovation) encourages the co-operation between Swiss firms and the university. It supports R&D projects targeted at material, process or product innovations. CTI generally sponsors up to maximally 50 % of the total project costs. The CTI grant is reserved for the academic partner. The industry partner takes over the remaining costs by providing resources (staff and physical resources) and cash payments. In selected fields CTI supports special sponsor programs. Further information on this subject can be found on the CTI homepage. SNF: EU: COST: Other programmes: |