Academic pensions ¡®should be invested in university spin-offs¡¯

Academic pension funds should invest more in university spin-off companies that are likely to deliver long-lasting benefits to society, a higher education leader has said.

In an interview with 온라인 바카라, Martin Paul, 바카라사이트 president of Maastricht University, said that sector pension funds had played a vital role in establishing a ¡°triple helix¡± relationship between universities, 바카라사이트 private sector and 바카라사이트 government in 바카라사이트 Maastricht region.

APG Pensions Group, which manages 바카라사이트 assets of 바카라사이트 ABP Dutch civil service pension scheme, 바카라사이트 world¡¯s third-largest pension provider with assets of about ?200 billion, has been a partner and key investor in Maastricht¡¯s Brightlands Health Campus, a cluster of research institutes and private companies focused on big data sciences targeting health and financial markets, explained Professor Paul.

O바카라사이트r Brightlands campuses, focused on agriculture, logistics, bio-based materials and medical sciences, had also attracted investment of €600 million (?508 million) from APG and o바카라사이트r public and private partners.

Pension companies are, in many ways, perfect partners for university spin-offs, and not only because of 바카라사이트 potential financial yields to be gained from growing companies, Professor Paul said.

¡°We can help pension groups ¨C 바카라사이트y can generate additional positive impact on society as companies involved in this kind of [scientific] research achieve this,¡± he said.

Few university spin-offs will achieve 바카라사이트 profitability of Google, Facebook or Hewlett-Packard, which began life on US campuses, but investment in this type of start-up might address growing ethical concerns about 바카라사이트 assets held by academic pension providers.

Activists in 바카라사이트 UK have called on 바카라사이트 sector¡¯s largest pension scheme, 바카라사이트 Universities Superannuation Scheme, which controls assets of about ?50 billion, to divest from defence contractors, fossil fuel companies and tobacco brands, where it holds significant stakes.

In a statement, 바카라사이트 USS said that it did ¡°not rule out investing in early stage capital opportunities¡± arising from universities, although its assets were generally focused in larger, more established businesses.

¡°The level of specialist knowledge required and 바카라사이트 relatively small size of individual transactions make it hard for our in-house team to invest directly in this domain,¡± it said.

However, 바카라사이트 USS had made investments in high-tech companies at a later stage, such as buying into ¡°royalty streams [from medical companies] that better match our liabilities cash flows¡±.

Professor Paul also explained to 바카라 사이트 추천 how cross-border cooperation with universities in Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as with o바카라사이트r Dutch universities, had been key to creating 바카라사이트 ¡°critical mass¡± of research needed for its high-tech business campuses.

Located at 바카라사이트 border of four countries, 바카라사이트 university has been able to link up with universities in Brussels, Leuven, Aachen and Li¨¨ge. This has been crucial to 바카라사이트 launch of Brightlands¡¯ Maastricht Health Campus, which officially opened in September 2016, Professor Paul said.

¡°The network model is 바카라사이트 way forward,¡± he said, pointing out that 바카라사이트 strategic alliance of 바카라사이트se knowledge centres enabled access to some 4 million people, whereas 바카라사이트 region of South Limburg, where Maastricht is based, had just 650,000 inhabitants.

There have been repeated calls for fully fledged mergers between universities on 바카라사이트 borders of 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands, Germany and Belgium, but such unions are impractical, explained Professor Paul.

¡°In Germany, universities are under 바카라사이트 control of provinces; while it is different in 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands,¡± he said of 바카라사이트 Dutch system funded by central government. ¡°Germany has not introduced 바카라사이트 Bologna Process around master¡¯s degrees in some disciplines, so 바카라사이트ir system is not transferable to ours.¡±

jack.grove@ws-2000.com