Technology transfer and commercialisation - Online course

• Concept of technology transfer
• Characterizing features of technology transfer
• Technology transfer mechanisms
• Motivations for technology transfer
• Benefits of technology transfer
• Legal framework for technology transfer
• Technology transfer offices

Academic technology transfer in the form of patent licensing benefits the economy in terms of gross industry output, gross domestic product (GDP), new companies, new products, and jobs.

• Overview of the technology transfer process
• First stage: create value to innovate
• Second stage: develop the partnership

Some real examples of technology transfer process in some renowned universities worldwide

Visualize the process of analyzing the transfer of a technology from laboratory to market in a certain organization

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Identify potential innovations resulting from the R&D activity and assess them from the market perspective

• The technology identification phase
• Results of R&D activity
• Invention disclosure
• Interviewing researchers

Practice-based recommendations to have better technology disclosing at universities

IBV is a technology center that carried out an applied research project to develop an advanced copolymer material for the treatment of bone defects in human beings. IBV tries to identify the possible results obtained from the project to find technology transfer opportunities.

Some examples of invention disclosure forms used by renowned universities

List of topics to guide a conversation with a researcher (or research group) and identify technology transfer opportunities

Template with possible resources available for collecting information to identify technology transfer opportunities

• The technology assessment phase
• Factors to make the right decisions
• Value proposition of the technology
• Market analysis
• Time of market entry
• Protection strength
• Capacity of the research team
• Pathways to transfer technology
• Partners in technology transfer
• Technology transfer strategic plan
• Market validation

How universities assess their own technologies in practice by using already developed assessment tools

There are two main options to transfer a technology from lab to market, namely licensing and spin-out, each of them having its own pros and cons at any given case.

IBV is a technology center that carried out an applied research project whose main outcome is the formulation and processing conditions of the advanced material. IBV tries to assess the possibilities of its commercial exploitation.

Methodology for evaluating technology from different perspectives considering relevant areas: technology profile, target market, time of entry, strength of protection, team capacity, partners, and pathways.

Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) are a method of estimating technology maturity. TRL is based on a scale from 1 to 9 with 9 being the most mature technology.

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• The technology protection phase
• Overview of intellectual property rights
• Getting the technology protected by patenting
• Checking patentability
• Filing the patent
• The patenting process in a nutshell

IBV is a technology center that carried out an applied research project to develop an advanced copolymer material for the treatment of bone defects in human beings. With the outcomes of the technology assessment in mind, IBV tries to analyze the possible types of protection which may apply to the technology resulting from this research project.

• The technology readiness phase
• Bridging the gap towards the market
• Development and proof of concept
• Required partners

The difficulty of bridging the technological valley of death, that is the gap between academia and industry when it comes to technology transfer.

A real example of a technology proof-of-concept funding program at a university to bridge the ‘valley of death’

IBV is a technology center that carried out an applied research project to develop an advanced copolymer material for the treatment of bone defects in human beings. With the outcomes of the technology assessment in mind, IBV tries to analyze the possibilities of further developing the technology to a more advanced state that will attract industry interest.

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Find the right partners to engage in the technology transfer process and define the deal to initiate a negotiation process

• The engagement phase
• The process for locating technology partners
• The engagement process with technology partners

A real example of new ways to engage with industry at academic institutions with regards to technology transfer

How universities interact with industry to improve the feedback towards a better technology transfer process

Template for preparing a technology document (promotional brochure) for a technology. The purpose of this document is to show information about the technology to potential customers interested in acquiring it, allowing essential details to be disclosed in order to quickly assess interest.

• The deal-making and negotiation phase
• Overview of the negotiation process
• Preparing the negotiation process

IBV is a technology center that carried out an applied research project to develop an advanced copolymer material for the treatment of bone defects in human beings. With the outcomes of the technology assessment in mind, IBV tries to define the roadmap to facilitate the negotiation process with a possible licensing partner.

Template to prepare a technology transfer negotiation that may be useful to consider all relevant aspects

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Establish the key aspects/structure of the technology transfer contract and identify the monitoring actions that are needed

• The contracting phase
• Overview of technology transfer contracts
• License agreement
• Structure of a patent license agreement
• Spin-offs (startup creation)

The types of major agreements that can be utilized in technology transfer as part of the relationship between public-sector research institutions and industry

A wider understanding of university spinoffs and academic entrepreneurship from a scientific evidence perspective

Rive Technology is a start-up that commercializes an MIT-developed invention that improves catalysts used in oil refining. The case illustrates how a given situation of spin-out creation has been addressed in practice, as part of the process to transfer an invention from bench to market.

Some templates and models for technology transfer agreements used by renowned institutions

• The monitoring phase
• Technology transfer implementation
• The technology package to transfer
• Monitoring actions
• Disputes in technology transfer

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Apply the knowledge acquired during the course to a practical situation through the "practice by doing" approach, so an effective retention of information and learning experience can be achieved

Imagine you are a practitioner working for a technology transfer office, whose main role is to advise scientists on commercialization of their inventions. Say that you have been provided with an invention disclosure form to communicate a new technology (“novel photobioreactor for mass cultivation of microalgae”), and you need to properly advise the inventor to move forward in technology transfer.

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