This strategy emphasizes fostering robust connections between academia and the defense sector. Firstly, establishing a defense liaison office within the university is pivotal. This office will act as a bridge, facilitating interactions and collaboration. For example, internships within defense organizations will provide hands-on experience for students and foster professional connections.
Secondly, creating academic-industry partnerships will enable collaborative research projects. Such partnerships can lead to innovative solutions with defense applications. As an example, faculty members could utilize sabbaticals to work in defense industries, gaining insights that inform teaching and research.
Lastly, promoting the commercialization of research is vital. This includes identifying university projects with defense potential and seeking investors or funding opportunities. For instance, a commercialisation office will manage the transition of research innovations to marketable products, benefiting both academia and industry.
The strategies
⛳️ Strategy 1: Establish dedicated defence liaison office
- Identify a suitable location within the university campus for the defence liaison office
- Appoint a qualified director with experience in defence or defence industry
- Establish a team to handle interactions with defence and industry
- Develop a contact database of defence and industry stakeholders
- Organise regular briefings with defence representatives
- Facilitate internships and placements within defence organisations
- Promote the liaison office through university channels
- Host defence-oriented events at the university
- Develop reporting and feedback mechanisms for improvements
- Ensure compliance with relevant defence regulations and standards
⛳️ Strategy 2: Create academic-industry partnerships
- Identify potential defence industry partners with aligned interests
- Develop collaborative research projects with defence applications
- Secure funding for joint research initiatives
- Create specific pathways for industry professionals into university programmes
- Host workshops and roundtable discussions with industry leaders
- Encourage faculty sabbaticals in defence-related industries
- Facilitate access to university research facilities for industry partners
- Negotiate intellectual property agreements that benefit all parties
- Measure impact of partnerships through agreed key performance indicators
- Publish results of collaboration in academic and industry journals
⛳️ Strategy 3: Promote commercialisation of research
- Map existing university research with potential defence applications
- Establish a commercialisation office dedicated to defence projects
- Identify potential investors and funding opportunities for defence-related projects
- Develop training programmes for researchers on commercialisation processes
- Create a mentorship programme pairing researchers with industry experts
- Host innovation challenges focused on defence needs
- Implement a technology transfer process specific to the university
- Develop success stories and case studies to promote achievements
- Secure patents for key new technologies developed
- Regularly review and assess the commercialisation strategy’s effectiveness
Bringing accountability to your strategy
It's one thing to have a plan, it's another to stick to it. We hope that the examples above will help you get started with your own strategy, but we also know that it's easy to get lost in the day-to-day effort.
That's why we built Tability: to help you track your progress, keep your team aligned, and make sure you're always moving in the right direction.
Give it a try and see how it can help you bring accountability to your strategy.
