§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to avoid duplication between Scottish Enterprise, the Commercialisation programme, the Technology Venture programme, the Connect programme, the LINC programme and other programmes in respect of commercialising and exploiting research in Scottish universities and research laboratories; and what steps he is taking to publicise these initiatives. [39480]
§ Mr. WilsonScottish Enterprise is responsible for the Technology Ventures initiative. It is not responsible for the CONNECT Programme, which is administered from the University of Edinburgh Management School, or LINC Scotland which is a network of private business investors. Members of the Technology Ventures team maintain regular contact with CONNECT and LINC Scotland on issues of mutual interest.
The Technology Ventures initiative has been publicised through a Ministerial launch of the strategy and other Ministerial engagements, various publications including an Annual Review and a quarterly newsletter, a website and events such as Technology Enterprise Shows and Commercialisation seminars. Members of the Technology Ventures team are in regular contact with and visit universities and research institutes in Scotland.