Fraunhofer UK launch from Materials World Blog

I have just added Materials World's blog to My list of blogs followed that may be found at the foot of my page following the leading blog posts.

I selected the article by Rachel Lawler from which I have taken the following:

"The UK branch of Fraunhofer, Europe’s biggest applied research organisation, at the Royal Academy of Engineering in London. The not-for-profit company will partner with UK universities and industry to ensure that the best research makes the transition into commercial success.

The project is already underway with the Fraunhofer Centre for Applied Photonics open at the University of Strathclyde. Professor Martin Dawson, head of the new centre, was also in attendance and feeling optimistic about the future of his field thanks to the launch. Since the centre opened in October last year, the field seems to have gone from strength to strength – Dawson estimated that the project has so far secured contracts worth £1.5m. ‘Photonics is often described as the “electronics of the 21st Century”[…] the academic strength of the UK in this area is internationally recognised,’ he said. And while he though it was ‘fitting’ that the first Fraunhofer centre focused on this area of UK expertise, Dawson hoped not to be alone as a Head of Centre for very much longer, as Fraunhofer UK looks to open more centres in the near future."

"Hear, hear"! Perhaps there is a lesson here for other EU countries.
Comments most welcome such is the impact of industrial restructuring in the EU!