Companies, especially small and medium-sized ones, are turning more and more to external sources of technology in order to develop their technological capacity, and to this end are making use of a variety of means of access to external technology sources. Technology support from local R&D institutes and universities is playing an ever more important role in applied industrial technology development. Within this context, the investigation of technology supply focused on the regional R&D potential, the technologies which are offered, and the collaboration between research institutes and industrial firms.
Applied R&D activity in C. Macedonia
Research activity in C. Macedonia is fragmented into a large number of small research units. We identified and listed 277 research units for applied R&D, of which 138 are university laboratories (130 in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and 8 in the University of Macedonia), 110 belong to Technical Education Institutes in Thessaloniki and Serres, 5 are associated with the laboratories of the Foundation for Research and Technology (FOURTH), 19 belong to the National Agricultural Research Institute, 2 to the Institute for the Control of Cultivated Plant Species, and one each to the Geology and Mining Research Institute, the National Tobacco Board and the National Cotton Board (see, Table 8.1).
These research units employ on an average over 12 persons per unit. Their scientific specialisation vary with the nature of the unit. 50.3% of those employed are university graduates, 8.9% graduates of Technical Educational Institutes, while 16.3% hold doctoral degrees and 3.1% post-graduate diplomas. A very small fraction is represented by under-graduates and senior students at the Technical Departments. Most of those employed are university graduates, while the percentage represented by those with doctoral degrees or post-graduate diplomas is small.
Building installations are generally considered satisfactory. 18.6% of these units are housed in facilities of under 100 m2, 27.9% have 101-300 m2, 11.6% have 301-500 m2, 18.6% have 501-700 m2, 6.9% have 701-900 m2 and 16.2% over 900 m2. The laboratory equipment available (computers, measurement instruments and other basic apparatus) is also considered satisfactory. 56.8% of the units polled consider that the equipment available to them has certain deficiencies, 34.1% definitely inadequate, and 9.1% adequate.
- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
- University of Macedonia
- Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki
- Technological Educational Institute of Serres
- Chemical Process Engineering Research Institute
- National Institute for Agricultural Research
- Institute for Geological Research
- National Tobacco Company
- National Cotton Company
Research and technology areas
The technology areas which concentrate most of the above units are related to agrotechnologies, biology and biotechnology, and the technologies for materials. Lower is the concentration around automation technologies, energy and communications (see Table 8.2). The technology fields which are covered are:Agrotechnologies and geotechnologies: agricultural technology, food technology, plant products technology, biotechnology, genetics and amelioration of plants, plant pathology, rural cultivations, rural soil mechanics.
Forest technology: forest genetics, forest products technologies, forest pastures, forest informatics.
Biotechnology and biology: biological production systems, zoology, bio-medicine and health, technologies of animal origin foods, hygiene of animal origin foods, animal nourishment, ecology, fish technology, fisheries, neurobiology, molecular-cellular biotechnology, biochemistry.
Geology, geophysics: ground and underground analyses, mineralogy, stones technology, seismology, natural resources.
Environment technologies: atmosphere radioactivity, atmosphere pollution, soil pollution, water quality control, water waste elaboration, cleaning units, natural environment, environment quality, atmospheric observations, climatology-meteorology.
Energy: renewable energy resources, energy transformation, optimisation of energy use, mild energy forms, energy saving, energy analysis of processes, construction of energy-saving equipment, atomic power, physics of elementary particles, thermo-illumination control, solid fuel, environmental fuel, synthetic fuel, electric power, quality control, measurements.
Automation technologies, technologies of production processes, constructions and quality control: propellant technologies (fluid mechanics, aerodynamics), mechanics and design of constructions, equipment, particles, mechanics of micro-systems, automatic production systems, CAD/CAM, mechanical treatment, micro-computers, technologies of testing and control, metrology, weighting and sampling measurement systems.
Material technologies: concrete technologies, inactive materials, organic materials, polymer technology, semi-conductors, super-conductors, optoelectronics, metals, thin membranes, leaf-form materials, catalysts, technologies of cultivation materials.
Information and communication technologies: software, information management, databases, analysis and synthesis of automatic control systems, expert systems, intelligent systems, optical elaboration of information, digital image and sign processing, artificial neuronic networks, data networks, distributed applications, non-linear systems, simulation, optic fibres, multimedia, communication systems-programming.
Applied socio-economic research: business management, business research, financial analysis, urban and regional planning, rural and forest socio-economic research.
- Bio-Sciences and Technologies
- Industrial Technologies
- Environment
- Information and Communication Technologies
- Energy
- Economic Research
Collaboration with companies
Companies and public organisations generate significant demand for technology. This demand includes services (76.1%), production process development (54.3%) and product development (36.9%). Usually, the capacity of the research units covers more than one of these fields.77.5% of the research units polled provide technology services and their research activities lead to applications. The recipients of these applications fall into a number of categories: 45.6% of these research units are oriented towards industry and agriculture, 15.2% to tourism, 56.5% to other private companies, 56.5% to public organisations and services, 15.2% to other enterprises. Most of the units (76.7%) have recipients in several categories of enterprises or organisations, large companies, small companies, and public sector organisations.
Despite the significant number of research units providing technology services to companies, the degree of collaboration between research and enterprise does not appear to be very great. Only 30.6% of the units polled feel that they provide substantial support services, replacing company R&D departments with their own R&D services. Further, a similar percentage feels that it makes a significant contribution to technology transfer to industry, while 38.7% feel that their contribution is minor and 30.6% nil.
- Information and Communications
- Industrial Technologies
- Environment
- Bio-Sciences
- Energy
- Socio-Economic Research
The problems of cooperation with enterprises are for most of these units multiple. The main source of their inability to develop strong bonds with companies is considered to be the companies themselves. About half the research units attribute this low levels of collaboration to a lack of interest on the part of the companies concerned. A significant number attribute the difficulty of collaborating to the lack of infrastructure, to lack of personnel, equipment and space. Another restrictive factor is the institutional framework within which the public entities function, especially with regard to billing for services rendered.
In any case, the effective co-operation between research and industry demands not only the adjustment of services and products by the research units, but also the development of internal to companies technological capabilities, based on R&D departments or the employed of scientific personnel.
In conclusion, the R&D carried out by research units in Central Macedonia is both substantial and capable of covering numerous fields of application. The basic objective for the immediate future should be: (1) the creation of larger poles of concentration of research activity through networks and joint research units, (2) the expansion of collaboration and networking between enterprises and research institutions, and (3) alteration of the institutional framework governing the public research institutions in order to facilitate the provision of services by these bodies.
