Rolls-Royce spreads its academic clutches

With the development of its network of University Technology Centres (UTC), Rolls-Royce has been something of a pioneer in focusing its university links into a small number of groups that have large research programmes with the company. A number of businesses, BNFL and BAE Systems in the UK for example, have gone down the same road, establishing major scientific programmes that replace lots of of small contracts with many universities.

Rolls-Royce has now extended its network to Korea and a deal with Pusan National University (PNU). The press release announcing the deal says that "The agreement marks the start of joint research activities between Rolls-Royce and PNU, to develop ultra-efficient, ultra-light weight heat exchangers, as their first project."

The Pusan deal doesn't start as a fully fledged UTC, but that's the plan. "Rolls-Royce expects that the joint research activities in marine and energy areas will be extended in the future through this agreement."

Rolls already has "more than 25" UTCs. At first in the UK, the UTCs are increasingly scattered around the planet, with two in Germany, one in Italy, one in the US, one in Sweden, one in Norway and one in Singapore.