Swansea University Vice Chancellor Professor Richard B Davies (right) signing the agreement along with Ger Brophy, Chief Technology Officer of GE Healthcare, (left) with the Chief Scientific Adviser for Wales, Professor Julie Williams, (centre) as a witness.
The Chief Technology Officer of GE Healthcare and the Vice Chancellor of Swansea met this month to sign an historic agreement to collaborate on science research and development projects.
With the Chief Scientific Adviser for Wales, Professor Julie Williams as a witness, GE and Swansea University signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 5 February agreeing to co-operate on pursuing commercial opportunities, to act as partners in research proposals for funding by third parties and to work together to share knowledge and expertise of their respective industries.
The partnership will provide opportunities for Swansea’s staff and students to undertake placements at GE to work on the development of new medical technologies such as human identification and diagnostics, whilst GE will benefit from the multi-disciplinary research expertise the University can offer.
Examples of potential initiatives include;
- Contract research projects
- Multi-disciplinary expert panels and forums
- Joint challenge statement projects
- Commercialization/license of intellectual property and technologies
- Two way staff exchange/secondment and internships
- Undergraduate professional training schemes
Swansea University’s Vice Chancellor Professor Richard Davies said:
“Entering into this agreement with GE Healthcare provides a secure and sustainable basis for our growing working relationships with this major global company. Their insight into the needs of the international healthcare industry will benefit our staff and students in helping to shape their scientific research and professional development. By deploying the University’s research and training capabilities in partnership with GE we can develop new commercial initiatives and help win investment and jobs for Wales.”
GE Healthcare’s The Maynard Centre is the global headquarters for Cell Technologies and forensic/human identification research with commercial, manufacturing and distribution capabilities.
Ger Brophy, GE Healthcare’s Chief Technology Officer, added:
“It’s fantastic to be working with such a respected institution as Swansea University at a time when life sciences are playing such an integral role in the growth plan for Wales. We see this new working agreement as a way to formalise and build on our long-standing partnership with the University and to work together towards a healthier future for Wales and the wider world.
“We are really looking forward to working with the research teams as well as other staff at Swansea University, as we work together to expand our offerings in two key areas: human identification and point of care diagnostics. I believe this can be a long-standing and multi-faceted relationship that enables us to offer products and services that will benefit a range of consumers of life sciences products.”
