Connecting Researchers to Industry Faster

Salman Samson Rogers was a graduate student at Cambridge University when he first noticed how removed scientists at academic institutions were from companies, yet each often trying to solve the same applied science problems. Later when Rogers worked in a firm, he would sometimes unsuccessfully troll the Internet and scientific literature to secure the expertise needed for a project.

“The problem is that corporations are very secretive, so hiring experts flexibly is often a pain,” Rogers said.

The takeaway: a lack of communication and difficult-to-find data may mean missed opportunities.

Rogers is one of the creators of Sciencebite, a Berlin-based start up whose founders want to change the status quo.

“We think there is something to be done to catalyze those interactions,” said Stéphane-Bertin Hoffmann, the company’s co-founder and CMO.

“It’s a marketplace with two sides. On the one hand companies are obviously searching for expertise, and on the other scientists are available who can provide that expertise.”

To facilitate communication between the private sector and academics, Sciencebite’s online platform lets users invite each other to converse on the secure space for dialogue that can surround sensitive topics, such as intellectual property. Similar to sites like Elance or eBay, the Sciencebite marketplace has users rate the transaction, or quality of the answer or interaction. The company launched this fall and is currently funded by angel investors.

The site’s information relies on publicly available research, although it’s Sciencebite’s metasearch that narrows the quest for experts in a specific field. And the company uses a couple hundred researchers as beta users who provide feedback to improve the service. However, Sciencebite’s founders say they do not want to be viewed as a competitor to ResearchGate because, unlike the well-funded social network for scientists also headquartered in Berlin, Sciencebite is a marketplace not restricted to researchers.

Ultimately, the goal of the site’s founders is to cut costs and time for those searching for an expert. Currently hiring talent scouts outside such a platform may cost 1,000 euro for one or two hours of work. For a small company, these costs are prohibitive. Rather, Sciencebite takes 10 percent from the transactions agreed upon on the site.

Although large firms, such as Siemens, are clients they would welcome, Sciencebite’s founders say that newly created small-to-medium sized firms may benefit most from their real-time services.

“For them, the speed to enter the market is crucial,” Hoffmann said. “They can’t afford to spend too much time searching for expertise, waiting to find the right person.”

by Claudia Adrien

The article was originally published December 7, 2014 at berlinSCI.com.