Oslo Medtech is in the spring 2012 focusing on how the Medtech sector can use R&D as a driving force in development and commercialization process. Research shows that it is those companies that have the best absorptive capacity and is clever in taking in use R&D and new knowledge, which also are successful in the long run.
Health companies and researchers seeking R&D funding, will have the opportunity to get more information on EUs funding package under the EU`s Seventh Framework Program for Research in a series of information meetings held by The Research Council of Norway, including a meeting in Oslo April 26th.
In July, EU will announce the last R&D funding package within the Health program under the Seventh Framework Program for Research.
As of today, approximately 4000 Norwegian researchers participate in 1060 different EU funded research projects.
- The medtech industry is very R&D driven and companies need to be in the forefront with their products to succeed. The customers are very competent, and they will always buy the best products, whether they are made in Norway or internationally, says special advisor Tom Skyrud in The Research Council of Norway.
- Medtech is still a relatively small sector in Norway, but the successful companies, like GE Vingmed Ultrasound AS, focus on R&D, Skyrud says.
R&D in Norway, in proportion to GDP, is still too low in an international context. And the R&D in businesses, measured by the number of PhD`s in the companies, is also too low.
The number of PhD`s are three times higher in the Copenhagen region compared to the Oslo region, adjusted for the number of people living in the area, according to Skyrud.
- The EU R&D programs open up the possibilities for companies to get funding for R&D projects with international partners. Based on our experience, one of the interesting aspects is that it is not necessarily the research results that matters most, but the research cooperation. R&D in the EU programs can open the doors to international markets, and the networking part of it is very important and valuable. It enables the companies to gain expertise on an international level, and to test them internationally, says Skyrud.
Click on the link to see the schedule for the meetings held by The Research Council of Norway:
