A technology transfer office facilitates innovation by facilitating the connection between different parties and promoting collaboration between them. It also acts as a channel of access to capital financing and helps companies develop their products faster. But what exactly is the main function of a technology transfer office? Let’s discuss the benefits of such an office. Here are a few examples. Listed below are some of the main functions of a technology transfer office.
Technology transfer
The main function of a technology transfer office is to provide services that enable university researchers to commercialize their discoveries. These services can be provided by universities, private companies, or both. The Technology Transfer Office (TTO) can help facilitate innovation by facilitating collaboration between researchers, inventors, and other stakeholders. A TTO can provide access to capital funding that is needed to commercialize research and innovations. A TTO can also help accelerate product development.
One of the most important functions of a technology transfer office is to identify technologies that offer the best financial returns. These offices also help develop partnerships to license or sell discoveries to external businesses. Using this process, technology transfer helps protect the intellectual property rights of universities. Patents help university researchers share their research with other institutions while retaining ownership of their inventions. By identifying technologies that can bring in revenues, technology transfer offices can help universities generate funds for future research and development.
Commercialization of university inventions
The main function of a technology transfer office (TTO) is to commercialize the inventions of university faculty members. The office helps to facilitate licensing of these inventions and splits the income based on the University’s copyright and patent policies. Since most University inventions are early stage in their development cycles, attracting multiple licensees can be difficult. Moreover, it can take a long time to negotiate the terms of specific materials for licensing.
Universities have an obligation to commercialize their inventions, so the TTO facilitates the process of licensing and selling these innovations. Many university discoveries are based on observations made during the research activities that result in a new process. It is important to record observations and laboratory data with reliability. If you intend to license or sell the inventions to third parties, make sure to contact the TTO first.
Supporting collaborations between universities and companies
A successful collaboration between university researchers and industrial leaders requires some key practices and principles. These principles will help guide the collaboration’s initiation, implementation, and success. The following are some examples of such practices and principles. Each university should be willing to contribute its expertise, as well as its facilities and intellectual property. To help foster success, university researchers should participate in national policy formulation processes. Here are five steps to support collaboration between universities and companies.
Communication is critical to any successful collaboration between universities and companies. The leaders of both the company and university must understand and interact daily with one another. Communication and monitoring must be properly implemented. At different stages of the collaboration, both parties should regularly share progress reports. Communication of benefits is vital in ensuring that successful collaborations continue. Providing regular access to top management is essential for the collaboration to succeed. While these steps may seem simple, they can make all the difference.
Cost sharing
The first step to successful cost sharing is establishing a formal policy and identifying the responsibilities of each party. In general, University personnel should not be expected to share costs unless requested by the sponsor. However, in some instances, a University may be required to share costs if the cost sharing is in the best interest of the University. In such instances, University officials will adhere to sponsor guidelines. For example, the University cannot share costs with a company unless the partnership includes a component of the University’s salary and benefits.
A cost sharing program is usually established in conjunction with a grant application or other external funding source. It is important to identify and monitor all sources of cost sharing. The PI is responsible for charging all costs against the cost-sharing program in a timely manner, so that the project does not incur any additional costs after it closes. To ensure that cost sharing is properly administered, SPAs send a Cost Share Form to the principal investigator, the DA, and the department.
