Forging healthy links

Scotland's minister for enterprise and lifelong learning, Henry McLeish, has stressed the importance of collaboration between higher education and business in a "state of the nation" address.

Mr McLeish said the "fundamental prerequisites" for developing a forward-looking knowledge economy included widespread partnerships between universities and enterprise, leading to greater commercial exploitation of "useful knowledge".

Such links had already led to centres of excellence in aerospace and semiconductor research, and the Scottish executive was looking to further opportunities.