Dr Pat Frain, Director of NovaUCD, the Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre at UCD, has been elected Chair of the Council of AURIL (Association of University Research and Industry Links).
AURIL is the professional association representing Knowledge Transfer practitioners in the UK and Ireland and it is the largest knowledge transfer association in Europe with more than 1600 members from UK and Ireland universities, NHS trusts and public sector research establishments.
Dr Frain becomes the first representative of a University from the Republic of Ireland to Chair the Council since AURIL was founded in 1995.
In recent years AURIL has been very influential in advising Government and other policy makers and opinion leaders in the UK on issues relating to technology transfer and innovation. AURIL has been the main driver of a proposal to establish an Institute of Knowledge Transfer, which will formally launch in early 2007, to develop standards for the profession, not only within the universities and public research organisations, but also in industry and other organisations in the UK and Ireland.
AURIL and other National Knowledge Transfer associations have recently signed a strategic partnership agreement with ProTon Europe, a pan-European network of knowledge transfer professionals. The aim of this agreement is to provide a voice for the technology transfer profession across Europe and to develop policies and good practice through the network of technology transfer offices in universities and Public Research Organisations.
