Unis need to commercialise research: Pyne

Australia's universities need to look at ways of commercialising their research, says Industry Minister Christopher Pyne.

"While we're sixth in the OECD for quality, we are 33rd in the OECD for commercialisation of research, which is obviously something we have to fix," he told reporters outside a hi-tech medical research facility at the University of Adelaide.

The university has launched a partnership with global medical equipment company Trajan to commercialise its health research.

Such partnerships represented the future for universities, Mr Pyne said, adding that universities that sought collaborations with industry would be major winners under the Turnbull government's innovation and science agenda.