University challenge

The article gives a review of a conference on collaboration between industry and academia. Focusing on high level materials characterisation, delegates from companies, government agencies, schools, other academics and the funding bodies attended the conference, to examine how university science could be applied to their business, find new partners and investigate potential funding options. A number of case studies were presented at the conference, from sectors including automotive, manufacturing, environment and aerospace. They highlighted user-focused research as a partnership between university and industry, and outlined the availability of several different funding routes that can be accessed to initiate and support this kind of collaborative work.