A magnet for scientific inventions
Nov 12 2009 by Stewart Watkins, The Journal
FROM televisions to telephones, light bulbs and DNA and even Marmite, some of the greatest human inventions and scientific breakthroughs have been made here in Britain.
It is often easy to forget how many of the devices we take for granted have their origin in a British idea. Versions of both the iPod and the internet were created by Brits long before both were fully commercialised.
And this is part of the problem.
All too often those who make the initial scientific or technological breakthrough are ill-equipped or lack the support to commercialise and develop their idea further.
A Government report, published in October this year, stated that UK research was the most productive and efficient in the G8 offering some of the best value for money.
This was calculated by the number of citations of research carried out in relation to public R&D spend.
But while scientific excellence is to be commended and encouraged, it is essential that research work does not simply stay on the pages of research papers but is cultivated into commercially successful products that contribute to the wellbeing of the wider community and the prosperity of the economy.
If we fail to capitalise upon the wealth of British expertise and talent we also fail to maximise the full potential of science to benefit our lives.
In our region, NETPark is a focus for the development and commercialisation of high level research.
For NETPark is not designed to be a self-contained unit, isolated from the rest of the community, but to be an integrated and contributing part of that community.
We want NETPark to act as a magnet to hold on to, and attract talented scientists and researchers to the region and provide the facilities and community for them to develop and commercialise their work.
The aim is not only to take a scientific breakthrough to the next stage and develop it in a commercial sense, but also to maximise the potential of the knowledge economy to create jobs and improve the prospects for future generations.
Looking at NETPark today it is phenomenally exciting to see some of the work going on there. Innovations across a huge range of sectors promise to change our lives in the future. It is important that centres like NETPark exist to nurture and support this work to ensure that ideas and scientific breakthroughs make it from the lab to the marketplace.
Stewart Watkins is managing director of County Durham Development Company.
