No one could have predicted at the time of its founding in 1972 that KU Leuven Research & Development (LRD) would become the cradle of 100 companies and thousands of cooperation contracts with industry partners. Nor that this office for knowledge and technology transfer would produce thousands of jobs in the Leuven region and hundreds of millions of euros in revenue.
According to LRD’s General Manager Paul Van Dun and Executive Director Koen Debackere, LRD's mission is simple: bring research to the market in a way that makes the researcher better. "That can take many forms," says Paul Van Dun. "The creation of spin-off companies is the most visible. With Instrumen NV (established in mid-May; specialising in robot-assisted surgery, eds.), we've reached number 100."
"The first was Silvar Lisco, founded in 1979. That company is now part of ARM, a major spin-off of the University of Cambridge. Our highest-profile spin-offs are undoubtedly LMS – which was recently acquired by Siemens – Materialise, ICOS and ThromboGenics, which was recently added to the Bel-20 (Belgium’s 20 leading companies in the Brussels Stock Exchange, eds.) in mid-March."
"But we do more than incubate spin-offs. LRD spends most of its time on cooperation contracts, for example, in the field of consulting and research. Of the 2,600 contracts signed in 2012, 1,800 were cooperation contracts. That's where most of our revenue is generated."
What added value does LRD bring to the region?
Koen Debackere: "The added value of the economic activity that LRD brings to the Leuven region runs into the hundreds of millions of euros. Our spin-offs alone have generated upwards of 4,000 additional jobs. But there is more. When LRD agrees to fund a spin-off, it also confers a kind of seal of approval, and that has shown to work as lever in the financial world. To give you an idea: a €7 million investment by LRD led to an investment of €630 million euros from external sources."
Are there any new success stories in the works?
Koen Debackere: "We set the bar rather high to minimalise the risk of failure. Of the 100 spin-offs we've launched, 84 are still active. Whether the next Google is among them, one can only hope, but several recent spin-offs have very promising outlooks. LayerWise, for example, which specialises in ‘additive manufacturing’ with metals, has grown into its own in a very short time. Cartagenia as well, which specialises in software that supports medical diagnoses, has quickly become the market leader in its field."
What kind of research has the best prospects for economic success?
Paul Van Dun: "There is no simple formula, of course. Each launch is different because the research is different and its target market sector is different. All we can do is ensure the best possible basis to guard against ever-changing market conditions. That said, virtually all of our strong spin-offs have grown on the basis of multidisciplinary research."
Where is LRD headed?
Koen Debackere: "Our base remains high quality research combined with a prudent financing model and excellent advisory services. This creates the best opportunities. History has shown that economic success is often associated with academic success. LRD is thriving because research at KU Leuven is thriving. We have more researchers doing more and better research. Meanwhile, 900 of the 1400 professors at KU Leuven currently collaborate in one way or another with LRD. This also means that more and more researchers are coming into contact with the world of business, and that clearly underscores the university's wider societal relevance."
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