ASK around and you’ll hear a lot about the potentially brilliant research bubbling away at universities, and how it could go hand-in-hand with the work of innovative businesses.

But, like pandas being encouraged to mate in a zoo, it’s a question of creating the right environment for them to get together

Could this environment be created by the Industry Innovation Forum, the project announced by the N8 Research Partnership this week?

Businesses and universities have been collaborating for a while with frequently-impressive results, but the partnership is aiming to provide a place where the two can get together and find out what the other’s up to and what they need. This is supported by the Technology Strategy Board.

Lancaster University’s pro-vice chancellor Prof Trevor McMillian, who is chair of the N8 pro-vice chancellors group, said: “A big change in the last year or so is that, with the loss of things like the regional development agencies, some of the mechanisms by which the connections have been made in the past have disappeared.

“Organisations like N8 now need to talk with industry and universities to discuss what we can do to bring the two groups of people together.”

N8 was formed in 2008 with investment from the Northern Way, and brings together eight research-intensive universities including Newcastle, Manchester, Durham, Lancaster, Sheffield, Liverpool, Leeds and York.

Its aim is to boost innovation and job creation in the northern economy, and it has already set up microengineering centre METRC and regenerative medicine centre Regener8.

McMillan said the forum has been set up in line with the BIS Innovation and Research Strategy 2012, and will see Northern universities talking with global firms including Procter & Gamble, AstraZeneca, Siemens, Smith & Nephew and Unilever. The first event will take place on February 1.

McMillan said: “There are going to be three or four sessions per year where we focus on specific challenges businesses want to talk to universities about. The first is advanced materials from skincare products to materials used in nuclear power stations. Businesses are asking how they get to know what’s going on in universities, and universities want to know what industries want.

“There are three or four things that have emerged from discussions with industry. One of them is around independent living, recognising we’ve got an ageing population and asking what people need to do to remain independent, from general support in the home to remote sensing of medical issues.

“We’re also applying to Government to ask if we can get a little bit of money to pump prime this idea and bring things forward.”

For more information go to www.n8research.org.uk