New head for Auril is first for Republic of Ireland

Pat Frain, Director of NovaUCD, the Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre at University College Dublin, has been elected Chair of the Council of AURIL, the Association of University Research and Industry Links. AURIL is the largest knowledge transfer association in Europe with more than 1,600 members from UK and Ireland universities, UK National Health Service trusts and public sector research establishments.

Frain becomes the first representative of a university from the Republic of Ireland to Chair the Council since AURIL was founded in 1995.

AURIL has been the main driver of a proposal to establish an Institute of Knowledge Transfer, which will formally launch in early 2007 to develop standards for the profession, not only within universities and public research organisations, but also in industry and other organisations in the UK and Ireland.

AURIL and other knowledge transfer associations recently signed a strategic partnership agreement with ProTon Europe, a pan-European network of knowledge transfer professionals, to provide a voice for the technology transfer profession across Europe and develop policies and good practice.

“These developments could not have come at a more critical time for Ireland,” said Frain. “In recent months the government in its Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation agreed for the first time to provide significant funding for the development of technology transfer offices within the universities and institutes of technology.”

“The setting of high standards for the profession in Ireland will be essential in attracting experienced technology transfer professionals to work in Irish universities and to encourage the best graduates to choose technology transfer as a career.”