Client Research
Client research is carried out with a client (industry, government, or private person) on a confidential basis. The client contract service is much appreciated and covers a spectrum of activities from product and process development to trouble-shooting or analysis of literature search.
There are also possibilities to place a clients own researchers at the YKI facilities for training and further development of methods and methodologies. The reverse is also possible, i.e. that YKI researchers be present in the clients laboratory for further transfer of knowledge. This applies only to member companies. Read more under FYF Membership in the menu above.
Collaborations
In many cases there are several clients forming a consortium. YKI is involved in many such consortia with industries, other institutes and/or universities. There are several types of consortia. One is the vertical type where industries in a supply chain are participating. Another type is the horizontal type where industries with a common challenge group together in order to solve a problem. A third type is a group of industries that form a consortium in order to develop a new technology (see Codirect or Exselent as examples under Knowledge Centres in the menu above).
All client research is on a confidential basis. The platform of client research is built upon the results and experience of the open research carried out at YKI and its collaborators. For more information of the research capacity see Research at YKI and Instruments at YKI under Research and Innovation in the menu above.
YKI as a hub of information
Industrial development today demands a multitude of skills and it is not possible to host all skills at an institute of the relative small size of YKI. YKI therefore has a multitude of collaborations at universities and institutes worldwide as seen from the map below. These collaborations include both client and open research, where the latter results in joint authorship in technical and scientific journals.
Legal aspects
Client research is carried out on a confidential level and the clients normally own all results, including the right to intellectual property. The client contract service is much appreciated and covers a spectrum of activities from product and process development to trouble-shooting or analysis of literature search. Member companies are offered priority and preferential fees. Read more under FYF Membership in the menu above.
The effectiveness of YKI at delivering value to industry and associated transfer of IPR is facilitated by model contracts and master alliance agreements and web-based tools that speed identification of new technologies and help create project strategies that will lead to defensible technologies. For companies with multiple roles at YKI we strongly recommend for the endorsement of a master alliance agreement. High technology solutions are either invented at YKI (see Research and Innovation) or at universities or institutes.