The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University

Torben Greve

Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University

Dyrlaegevej 68

DK 1870 Frederiksberg C

Denmark

Welcome to the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (KVL), which is the only one in Denmark performing university education in animal and veterinary sciences, agricultural sciences, and food sciences. We have one veterinary and agricultural university, not seperated in an agricultural university and a veterinary university. Currently, I am pro-vice chancellor of research of the University. My real interest is embryo technology, embryo transfer, cloning, in vitro embryo production. I am a professor of animal reproduction at this university. The work we are doing in our faculty and the platform work since 1995 is very relevant. Therefore, the things you are going to discuss today will be highly appropriate for the future. I will not talk to you as a reproductive biologist, but as a representative of KVL.

The funding from our university basically comes from the newly formed Danish ministry of research. For education we receive about 140-150 million Danish Crowns. Further, KVL receives research money from the ministery at an almost equal level. Besides that, we have 180 million of external funding, coming from research councils, EU and other bodies. Further, there is additional funding from private industries. The latter is interesting from todays point of view. Here patents may come in. The industries may be Carlsberg, the larger biotechnology industries, and agricultural companies, e.g. the Danish cattle breeders and pig breeders, or the dairy industry. External collaboration is responsible for a considerable part of our work.

Within the contracts with industry, there are always some patenting elements. For this reason we are occupied, together with the university of Copenhagen, in a platform on how universities are handling patent matters. It is a constant challenge when we have collaborations: how can we utilise it? And how can we help our scientists: and that is our main interest. How can their brain be protected from being "exploited" in a way by an industry, that wants to have their innovations. On the other hand, we need the money from industry, and how do we optimise this relationship? In a way, we have different goals. But there is also the same goal, that is either to get more development in science or to get more money. Nowadays the office of this university spends quite a bit of effort on making contracts. We ask ourselves how we should handle patents. We realise they are very expensive, and in our normal funding we have no way of really handling this. We do think it is an important subject.