The insider: Ask the experts

Academics' expertise makes them ideal consultants for a variety of projects discovers Manisha Lalloo

Paul Lickiss is an organometallic chemist at Imperial College London, UK. But, as well as carrying out research into silicon compounds, the last few years have seen him advise the United Arab Emirates on a new chemistry degree, help a start-up generate energy more efficiently, and act as a scientific adviser for a children's book.

All these activities were done under the guise of consultancy, which sees academics contracted out to apply their know-how to industrial or commercial problems.

'Consultancy offers academics the opportunity to apply their knowledge to clients' real world problems,' says Alistair McDermott, director of business operations at Imperial Consultants, the institution's consultancy arm. With scientists under increasing pressure to demonstrate the impact of their work, consultancy can be a quick way to apply scientific knowledge to society. 'It uses their know-how rather than spinning out technologies,' says McDermott.

Opportunity knocks 

For chemists, the opportunities offered by consultancy are vast. Biochemistry, drug development and discovery, catalysis, and industrial processes can all benefit from academic expertise. As a consultant, academics get the benefit of extra income, and the opportunity to establish relationships and research links with industry. Consultancy can also provide a way to push intellectual boundaries and provide variety to research. 

Consultancy can have much to offer but some may see it as another job to add to the load. 'Go into it carefully with your eyes open about what the commitment might be,' advises Lickiss. However, it needn't be a distraction, and can even enhance research. 'If the consultancy gets mixed in with projects in the lab, it's like regular work,' Lickiss explains. 'But the book, for example, I did on the train as it was mainly editing.'  

As Lickiss' CV shows, consultancy can take a number of different forms. It can also come about in a number of different ways. 'What can happen [at Imperial] is people send out speculative emails to the head of the chemistry department, as they think they'll know someone who can help,' he says. For example, the job in the Emirates came his way as he was already on an RSC panel for accrediting degrees in the UK. 'Anything's possible,' he says. 'You can get an application out of the blue, through a friend, or through Imperial Consultants.' 

'I think a lot of the work is people going to the consultant directly at a conference; they'll bump into somebody and start chatting,' adds McDermott. Much work is consultant-generated, although every university has their own consultancy model, and a number of private companies also arrange this type of work. 

Money well spent 

So what about the companies? Ken Day is engineering and project director at Bio-Sep, a small emerging company looking at processing biomass. He has worked with consultants from both Imperial and Cardiff University. 'It's a very good place for when you're starting a ball rolling, particularly if you're a new company with few resources of your own. The expertise they're able to put in, to the facilities they have and their connections are all extremely valuable to small businesses like us,' he says. 

Consultancy can offer companies a way to investigate potential products or innovations with relatively small sums of money. While such work can lead to longer-term projects - one company Lickiss consulted for funded a postdoctoral researcher in his lab - businesses can also work with academics for shorter times, on specific problems. 'I think it's a misconception that to engage universities you have to have a PhD student for four or five years, or a research assistant for two or three years, before you get anything out of it,' says McDermott. 'Consultancy gives you a quick and responsive way to deal with the academic knowledge base.' And, as academics are simply providing expertise, there are fewer intellectual property issues than might arise during other industrial research projects.  

For Day, consultancy has definitely been money well spent. 'I think that a good job done is one worth talking about,' he says. 'We're getting a cracking good service.' 

Manisha Lalloo is a freelance science writer based in London, UK