共用题干 第三篇

Technology Transfer in Germany

When it comes to translating basic research into industrial success,few nations can
match Germany.Since the 1940s,the nation"s vast industrial base has been fed with a
constant stream of new ideas and expertise from science.And though German prosperity
（繁荣）has faltered（衰退）over the past decade because of the huge cost of unifying east
and west as well as the global economic decline , it still has an enviable（令人羡慕的）
record for turning ideas into profit.
Much of the reason for that success is the Fraunhofer Society,a network of research
institutes that exists solely to solve industrial problems and create sought-after technologies.
But today the Fraunhofer institutes have competition.Universities are taking an ever larger
role in technology transfer,and technology parks are springing up all over.These efforts
are being complemented by the federal programmes for pumping money into start-up
companies.
Such a strategy may sound like a recipe for economic success,but it is not without its
critics.These people worry that favouring applied research will mean neglecting basic
science,eventually starving industry of fresh ideas.If every scientist starts thinking like an
entrepreneur（企业家）,the argument goes , then the traditional principles of university
research being curiosity-driven,free and widely available will suffer.Others claim that
many of the programmes to promote technology transfer are a waste of money because half
the small businesses that are promoted are bound to go bankrupt within a few years.
While this debate continues,new ideas flow at a steady rate from Germany"s research
networks,which bear famous names such as Helmholtz,Max Planck and Leibniz.Yet it is
the fourth network,the Fraunhofer Society,that plays the greatest role in technology transfer.
Founded in 1949,the Fraunhofer Society is now Europe"s largest organisation for
applied technology,and has 59 institutes employing 12,000 people.It continues to grow.
Last year,it swallowed up the Heinrich Hertz Institute for Communication Technology in
Berlin.Today,there are even Fraunhofers in the U. S. and Asia. When was the Fraunhofer Society founded?