A nice idea...
A great initiative but the biggest issue with academic research is that it *tends* to look at the new and shiny rather than the practical and financially viable.
Industry has always seen IT spend as a necessary burden but when it comes to security they often just see it as a burden. One which *may* never serve any purpose. Of course any rational person will tell you that it is an equally necessary requirement but convincing your bosses to run a technology uplift for security purposes usually only comes as a result of changes to policy or the law.