University spin outs: The balance between research and practice

Summary form only given. Developing high quality research within the business context offered by spin out activity makes a valuable and indeed necessary contribution to many modern fields of research. Within the field of operations research, often, Universities are involved in research activities in which models of or hypothetical Industrial problems are addressed. As the subsequent body of research grows, the inherent complexity of the problem under investigation often becomes more and more diluted. When industry is engaged in the process, the body of research often does not contribute as well as it might as the research has expanded along its own direction which is often quite different than the needs of industry. In this area, University spin out promotes a partnership between industry and academia with the potential of providing a context within which specific challenges offered can be addressed. This talk will investigate the various models that are used to successfully promote this partnership.