April 5, 2016
K-State team to present at University Industry Demonstration Partnership co-location workshop
Industry often collaborates to meet research goals by setting up shop on university campuses, but it's much less common for a university and corporation to collaborate on building a new facility adjacent to industry property. That's what K-State did — in partnership with Coperion K-Tron, the Salina Economic Development Corporation, and Salina Vortex Corporation — when it built the Bulk Solids Innovation Center, or BSIC.
The BSIC is the only facility of its kind in North America, and members of the team behind its creation will present "Good Practices for Participants in a Co-located Facility" at a University-Industry Demonstration Partnership, UIDP, co-location workshop at the group's general meeting on April 11-12 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Co-presenters are Richard Potter, director of corporate engagement; Kurt Barnhart, associate dean of research and engagement at K-State Polytechnic; and Todd Smith, general manager of Coperion K-Tron in Salina and vice president of the company's Global Systems Group.
The presentation will use the Bulk Solids Innovation Center as a case study to demonstrate how to effectively align expectations for co-management and operation of the facility. Presenters will address what it took to gain consensus on general solutions such as master agreements, memoranda of understanding and sponsored research agreements as well as more specific issues, including policies and procedures, third party and competitor access and confidentiality.
"Co-location requires significant time and resources to insure the expectations of all parties are being met. It is also one of the highest forms of strategic collaboration between industry and academia. UIDP members, both corporate and academic, are interested in learning from successful co-location models, and this workshop was created to meet that need," Potter said.