Sydney

Australian scientists are as adept at commercializing their academic work as their US counterparts, according to a national survey — but industry continues to reduce its commitment to research and development.

The results were released two weeks ago, just before Australia's first National Innovation Summit. In 1998, the members of the Australian Tertiary Institutions Commercial Companies Association, which represents the business arms of 48 universities, evaluated the commercial potential of 274 inventions, filed 161 patent applications and were granted 103 patents.

Australian universities launched 46 successful start-up companies between 1996 and 1998. This equates to one company for every A$100 million (US$63 million) of university research funding — close to the average that a 1997 study found for US universities.

But Australia ranked 19 out of 24 leading economies in its business spending on research and development, as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), during 1996–97. The most recent estimate predicts that there was a further 10 per cent drop in such spending during 1998–99.

Contributing to government chief scientist Robin Batterham's review of the Australian science base, Vicki Sara, chair of the Australian Research Council, said that spending on university research has dropped by 13 per cent as a percentage of GDP over the four years of the coalition government.