"Universities can have two different schools of thought - Californian and Thatcherite. The Californian model - which I support - encourages starting a company with a new idea, and if it works it could affect the whole industry. Under the Thatcherite model, academics are seen as lazy buggers who don't do anything, so they are forced to work with industry. Industry gets frustrated because things don't happen quickly enough, while university ends up getting nothing out of it."

"Biotechnology in Ireland is not succeeding at the moment because it is not competing against a global market."

"We have an edge right now through our unusual combination of ideas. We need to structure a pool of talent in the centre and lead it to become a world leader. If it's not in a global economy, it's not competing. We have to be the best."

"Where universities are unstructured and free to conduct independent research, they attract the creative who want to be part of an exciting environment. This is why collaborations with industry can sometimes be disappointing, because industry is setting the targets."