The Engineering degree provides an esteemed education admission to a professional organisation, esteem for the graduates and receives strong approval by industry. These schemes may operate more effectively through financial partnerships in management of funds. Seed funding or lack of it is a perennial problem, and needs to be more strongly supported by Government. Greater resources and more focussed units need to be created. For instance to serve biotechnological innovation specifically, or whatever is appropriate for the alignment of the University, so that communication is not limited by lack of focus or resources.
Universities generally have insufficient funds to address IP protection.
Some universities have assigned IP rights to the researchers. This begs the question that these researchers will have access to funds to cover patent protection. The IP rights clause is usually excluded from most research agency contracts. The Government could establish a fund to cover IP costs for worthy applications. Government should seek advice on the international science landscape to identify opportunities and to provide distributed funds for fundamental emerging technologies as well as for potentially successful cutting edge commercial ventures.