Dept. of Computer Science and AI
FACULTY OF SCIENCE
University of Malta
TEL: (+356) 2340 2519 FAX: (+356) 21320539

Becoming an Industrial Partner

Scope of Research and Development Groups

The Department of Computer Science and AI has set up various Research and Development Groups so that visitors can see at a glance the research interests of the Department.

The Department is committed to undertaking innovative research. Frequently, research areas have applications which are of interest to industry. The Department welcomes opportunities to collaborate with industrial partners so that the research can be developed into products which can be used to commercial advantage by industrial partners. In such cases, an interested industrial partner and a Research and Development Group in the Department of Computer Science and AI will together define the context for a joint project.

The aim of a joint project is to collaborate on research leading to the development and delivery of an artifact: a product which can be used according to terms and conditions of use described in a bilaterally drawn up licence agreement. Our intention is to provide quality research and development services at extremely competitive rates, which will enable industrial partners to use the results of a Research and Development Groups to their greatest commercial advantage.

The active members of a joint project may be employees of the University of Malta, employees of the industrial partner, undergraduate/postgraduate students at the University of Malta, and research assistants/developers employed directly by the project. The type and number of human resources allocated to a project is dependent on its scope.

Examples of joint projects undertaken by a Research and Development Group

It is not the desire, nor the intention, of the Department of Computer Science and AI to compete with services offered by the local IT industry. Rather, the Department seeks to collaborate with industry to enable industry to take advantage of opportunities which it would not normally be able to undertake. Examples of projects include feasibility studies involving leading-edge technology, the identification of new business opportunities, innovative solutions to improve competitiveness, and the commercialization of opportunities arising from academic research.

Advantages to Industry

The Internet and the globalization of the Information Technology market is creating a wealth of opportunities for companies who have the expertise, means, foresight, and capacity to embrace them.

Even companies not directly involved in the Information Technology sector of an economy drive the need for innovative IT solutions to improve the efficiency of their business process, to reach markets previously considered too difficult to approach, or to take advantage of new business opportunities.

Maltese IT companies tend to be relatively small, employing few IT personnel. Malta's is a micro-economy on a national scale. Although largely supplying a population a fraction of the size of Greater London, the business needs of the population are as diverse as those of any other country. In the 21st century, with the globalization of economies, Malta faces the same risks and opportunities as a country 1,000 times her size. This, however, without having access to the same resources as other countries competing in the same market.

The Department of Computer Science and AI has created an infrastructure to collaborate on research and development with industry with four main objectives in mind: to provide access to a wealth of skilled technical innovators with proven track records in various IT and related disciplines; to enable industrial partners to take full commercial advantage of the products of research and development, if desired; to keep the costs to industry as low as possible; and to facilitate technology- and knowledge-transfer between the University and industry.

Apart from the advantages of local industry having access to affordable innovative research and development, industrial partners may also benefit from skills and technology transfer. Each Research and Development Group will offer a number of postgraduate positions which are available to appropriately qualified employees of, or students sponsored by, the industrial partner. In this way, industrial partners may also acquire know-how and bolster their corporate profile with postgraduate employees, who may then be able to offer internal research services.

Funding

Once the Department of Computer Science and AI and the industrial partner have agreed on a project definition and the roles to be played by the academic members of the Department and the employees of the industrial partner, a budget plan will be drawn up to identify the costs associated with the project. Although the industrial partner is normally expected to meet the project costs, alternative sources of funding will also be investigated. At the very least, the Department expects a collaborative research and development group to fall under the Government of Malta's Public-Private Partnership scheme. A one year long project is normally expected to cost Lm6000, depending on the resources required. When compared to the average annual salary commanded by a fresh BSc IT (Hons.) graduate, the fact that the industrial partner will have access to several experienced IT technical innovators and the resources of the Department of Computer Science and AI and the University at large, the quality of the fruits of the research and development, the income that may be generated from new business opportunities or saved as a result of improvements in business efficiency, and the costs of research and development overseas, the fee is highly competitive. In some cases, the industrial partner will also be able to sell on the technology once a sufficient commercial advantage has been made, which will allow the industrial partner to directly recover the initial cost of funding the research and development.

Intellectual Property Rights

The fruits of a research and development group are the result of a combination of the skills, knowledge and resources of the researchers and developers and of the funding body. The Department of Computer Science and AI wishes the industrial partner to take full commercial advantage of the fruits of the research and development without detriment, but also wishes to protect its own interests.

The Department of Computer Science and AI expects each research and development project to be covered by an Intellectual Property Rights statement, which is bilaterally agreed upon before commencement of a collaborative project. The IPR statement expresses the rights that members of a research and development group, the industrial partner, and the University of Malta will enjoy.

Additionally, members of the research and development group who are not employees of the industrial partner may be asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement, to ensure that confidential information, or information whose public release would spoil an industrial partner's right to exclusivity, remains private.

Other benefits an industial partner can expect to enjoy

The Department will maximise exposure of the industrial partners by hosting logos and links to on-line corporate information on the Department's Web pages for the research and development group.

Reports on the progress of research and development groups will appear in national and international media. In addition, there will usually be scope to jointly author research papers for presentation at international conferences, and for inclusion in conference proceedings. In cases where joint authorship of research papers is not practical, acknowledgement of the industrial partner's contribution will be given.

For further information

Please contact either the academic leader of the Research and Development Group which best represents your interest, or Dr. Christopher Staff (cstaff@cs.um.edu.mt, or phone 32902506).

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